The Spectre
by Katarena
Summary: After choosing between her ambitions and her family, Carla leaves on a journey that will take her down paths she never expected and reveal strengths she never knew she had. But there's a new rogue team on the rise, and Carla must decide just what she is willing to do and what she is truly capable of. Set in Hoenn, post-ORAS. Part 1 of 3.
1. Prologue: The Moment You've Waited For

_**The Spectre**_

Prologue: The Moment You've Waited For

_**Two months before The Awakening**_

"Glennis! It's starting!"

Carla sat on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest and eyes fixed on the television screen in front of her. She'd been waiting all week for this, and she didn't want to miss a single second.

Two minutes later, her sister came running down the stairs and into the sitting-room, her long brown hair bouncing below her shoulders. "Have I missed anything?"

"Nope," Carla replied.

Glennis flopped onto the sofa and folded her arms. "Where's Nadine?"

"She's out with Mum. They'll be back soon."

As if on cue, the front door opened and Bethany Saverre walked into the house. "Girls, we're back!"

"Hi, Mum!" Glennis called. Carla didn't reply. She was watching the screen intently. A single spotlight had fallen into the stage, illuminating a single figure in a long black coat. The rest of the stage was in complete darkness.

"Oh, has it started?" Beth sat next to her older daughter, putting an arm around her shoulders. Glennis was only thirteen - three years older than Carla - but already it was obvious which of their parents she took after. The only thing she and Beth didn't have in common was their eyes: Glennis had her father's dark brown, whereas Carla had inherited Beth's stormy grey.

The dark figure pulled a pokéball out of his coat pocket. Light exploded out of the capsule and took the shape of a white fox with nine long, sweeping tails. She stood poised on the stage in front of her trainer, eyes on the cameras filming her. She was beautiful and she knew it.

"Don't sit down there, Carla!" Beth patted the space on the sofa next to her and held out her arm. "Come sit with us."

Grinning, Carla got up and shuffled along until she was snuggled into her mother's side. A lean dark shape padded into the room and lay down in front of the sofa. Carla reached down and petted Nadine's head.

The coordinator gave a silent command, and a stream of fire left the Ninetales' jaws, forming a long ribbon across the stage floor. Before long, the trainer and his pokémon were in the centre of a glowing spiral.

"Is that Flamethrower or Fire Spin?" asked Beth.

"Don't know," Glennis shrugged. "I think it's both."

Carla wasn't listening. She was watching the dark figure, captivated by the way he held the spectators' attention, the way he commanded the entire arena. Light from the fire lit up his face. He knew the power he wielded.

_One day,_ Carla vowed, _**I'll** be on that stage. And when that happens, you'll be the one watching me._

_**Author's Note:**_** This is a rewrite of my story 'Dreams of Fire'. Some things will be the same, others...won't be.**

**Three things were a major inspiration. The first was 'How To Be A Hero Like A Villain', by Alydia Rackham. She's got works published here and on Amazon; I can't recommend her seriously enough.  
**

**The second is the realisation that I've never created a Slytherin protagonist.**

**The third thing was my soft spot for female characters, protagonists and antagonists alike, who are flawed, ambitious, selfish and ruthless, yet are capable of love, compassion and change. This is my tribute to them.**

**Hope you enjoy the story!**

**_EDIT_: After a thoughtful review left by a reader, I've decided to make some changes to the story. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 are being rewritten/edited and will be up soon.**

**The prologue's title comes from 'The Greatest Show' from The Greatest Showman soundtrack.**


	2. 1: Long, Long Way From Home

Chapter One: Long, Long Way From Home

_**Four Years Later**_

The best laid plans don't always work. Sometimes they do.

Carla really needed this one to work.

"_What am I going to do, Carly? I can't leave and become a trainer – you heard what he said!"_

Glennis couldn't become a trainer. But Carla could._  
_

She'd spotted him from her bedroom window and recognised him immediately. From the looks of things, he was heading for the Centre to either heal his team or book a room. She grabbed her purse, raced down the stairs and out of the door, banging it shut behind her and cutting off her sister's demand to know where she was going.

The house wasn't far from the Centre, but Carla was still panting as she staggered past the automatic doors.

There were a lot of trainers in the lobby, so there was no chance of anyone recognising her. Luckily for Carla, the one she was after was just handing over his team to the nurse. Carla waited until he went to sit down before going to speak to him.

"Hey, Bobby?"

He looked up and saw her; immediately, his face lit up in a delighted smile. There was a tiny scar on his lip that hadn't been there before. "Hi, Carla! How's it going?"

"I'm fine. You know how you said you owed me a favour?"

"Yeah, I remember. What do you want me to do?"

"I need to get to Mauville this afternoon and Littleroot early tomorrow morning - can you get your Kadabra to teleport me there?" She fervently hoped he still _had_ his Kadabra.

"Sure! When do you want to meet up tomorrow?"

"Would eight be OK?"

"That's not a problem. Do you want to meet up outside the Centre?"

"Brilliant."

It seemed to take ages before Bobby's team was healed. Carla kept her eyes on the door, anxious someone she knew would walk in. It wasn't as if she'd never been in the Centre before - she and Glennis would sometimes take Nadine, Kelvin and Tyson there for a little check-up - but this was different.

"Hey." Bobby was back. "Ready to go?"

Carla nodded. Bobby called out his Kadabra and said: "Syke, can you get us to Mauville City?"

Syke nodded and put his spoons together, forming an X-shape. His eyes glowed blue.

Bobby gripped Carla's shoulders. "Brace yourself. And you might want to close your..."

An invisible fist punched Carla's lungs, emptying them in one swift move. The world around them disappeared in a swirl of light and pinpricks of colour, and materialised again. She staggered, clutching at Bobby's jacket, gasping for air.

"I know, right?" he said, grinning. "Takes some getting used to."

Carla still felt a little dizzy, so she waited for her head to clear before looking around to see where they were. They stood in a small patch of astroturf, just to the left of the Mauville Pokémon Centre. Overhead, the New Mauville lights beamed down harshly.

"It's OK," Bobby said. "This is the special teleportation area. Where do you want to go?"

"Where do I get a secondhand phone? And travelling clothes?"

Mauville City was the best place in Hoenn to buy trainer supplies. Carla was on a very limited budget, so she couldn't risk buying anything new. Besides, the only things she truly needed were a semi-new phone, basic pokémon food and medicine, and possibly something to keep her warm on the road. She already had everything else she needed, and she wouldn't take anything from the house that wasn't already hers.

Bobby directed Carla to a small selection of shops not far away from the Centre. Much to her annoyance, most of them sold new things, but she was able to find a shop that took castoffs and donations. She noticed the proceedings from the shop would go to 'rewilding' areas damaged by natural disasters.

Carla didn't spend too long there. She quickly found a dark grey hoodie and the least-battered secondhand phone in the shop.

"Make sure you connect that to TrainNet quickly," the shop assistant said as she handed Carla the items.

Carla had heard of TrainNet. It was the best phone network in Hoenn and it was exclusively for the use of trainers. "I will. Thank you."

"I'm guessing you want to go back to the Centre now?" Bobby asked as Carla stepped out of the shop, hoodie tied around her waist and phone tucked away safely in her pocket.

"I need to visit the one here first. How long does it take to get a licence?" she asked as they walked.

"Not long, but this is Mauville City we're talking about here."

"So?"

She got her answer as soon as the Centre door slid open. The lobby was packed with trainers, most of them with at least one pokémon out. A Skitty ran in front of Carla, its trainer in pursuit. As Carla watched, the trainer scooped up the tiny creature and carried it back to a seating area - only to find her seat had been taken by someone else.

"See what I mean?" Bobby said. "Want me to wait by the door?"

"That's great. Thanks."

Luckily for Carla, the queue at the desk was only comprised of three people. Even so, Carla couldn't help glancing over her shoulder to where Bobby sat, looking aimlessly around.

"Are you here to get your team healed?" the nurse asked when it was her turn.

"No, thanks. I'm here to get my trainer's licence."

The nurse craned her neck to speak to her colleague. "Estelle, could you deal with this, please?"

Estelle was a tall, thin woman with dark hair and a pale face, and who looked as though she hadn't slept properly in weeks. She smiled at Carla and got up from her chair. "Hello. Please could you follow me?"

Within moments, Carla found herself sitting in front of a machine and keeping her face expressionless as it took her picture. There was no flash; she didn't even blink once.

"OK, can I have your first name, please?" asked Estelle.

"Carla."

"Is that spelled with a C or a K?"

"C."

"And what's your surname?" the woman asked without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Saverre. That's S-A-V-E-R-R-E."

"Hmm." From where she was sitting, Carla could see Estelle raise her eyebrows. "That's an interesting surname. Is your family Kalosian?"

"My grandfather was from Lumiose City."

Estelle typed something on her computer. "Have you gotten your starter yet?"

"No." That was why she was going to Littleroot tomorrow.

"While we're waiting for your licence to print out, let me just give you this." Estelle went over to Carla and handed her a white pamphlet. "Read this thoroughly before you leave home and...if I may make a suggestion?"

Carla nodded.

"Get a haircut as well. It's really not safe to have hair as long as yours out in the wild. It could get tangled, caught in things, or worse."

She looked pointedly at the ends of Carla's dark blonde hair, which hung dangerously close to her hips. Everything had happened so quickly; Carla hadn't even had a chance to think about things like a haircut.

"I will." She _would_ \- eventually.

There was a whirring sound and a thin sliver of plastic emerged from the machine. "Here you go," Estelle said, holding out the licence. "Good luck on your journey!"

"Thank you."

She was going to need it.

* * *

Carla let herself into the quiet house and was immediately confronted by the sight of her sister sitting on the bottom step, hands around her knees.

Glennis sprang to her feet. "Where did you go?"

"To get my licence."

"Did you go to the Centre here? What were you thinking? Dad's going to be back soon; what if anyone had seen you and told him what you were..."

"I'm not _stupid_, Glen!" Carla snapped.

Glennis flinched. Carla sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No, it's OK. So where _did_ you go?"

"Remember that trainer who ran out of money to get medicine for his Kadabra? I got him to take me to Mauville. We're gonna meet up again tomorrow, so I can get my starter." Carla moved past her sister. "I need to hide these before Dad gets here. Then I'm going out."

"You just came back."

"I'm going out _again_. There's somewhere I need to be."

Once she was in her bedroom, Carla stuffed her new purchases under the bed, right next to her sleeping-bag and rucksack. She'd already retrieved her tent; her father wouldn't notice it was missing until he realised _she_ was.

There was no time to think about that. Not now. Carla swallowed the guilt that was threatening to choke her and got to her feet. She went down the stairs and left the house without saying anything to her sister.

It was late afternoon. The sun was beginning to send dark gold beams over the ocean. Carla gave the scene a brief glance before going on her way. She had nearly reached the post office when she suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at a grey stone building to her right. Light from the dying sun was touching the coloured glass windows and causing the building to cast a long yet comforting shadow.

Carla pushed the wooden door open and walked inside.

It was silent, just as she had hoped. There were no lights on overhead, but sunbeams still entered through the windows. Normally, Carla would have made her way towards one of the smaller chapels, but today she stepped quietly down the main aisle and sat down in a random pew.

Although there was nobody else in the church, Carla couldn't bring herself to pray aloud. She looked up at the largest window, where an image of Arceus was captured in white and gold glass. His eyes stared down directly at Carla.

Carla knew what she wanted to say. She just didn't know how to say it. She didn't even know what she should pray for first: protection, guidance or forgiveness.

Everyone had their reasons for becoming a trainer. She was no different. It was just that her motives were more…mercenary. A strong trainer could make a lot of money by winning battles. That was primarily how Gym Leaders were able to maintain their properties. If Carla trained hard and gained a powerful team, she would be able to send her sister the right amount of money in a matter of months.

_And then what will you do?_

Carla brushed the thought aside. Her eyes flickered towards two of the chapels, the ones dedicated to Groudon and Kyogre. There were more prayer candles lit in those chapels than ever before.

She heard the church doors open and close behind her, but she didn't turn around.

"Hello, Carla."

The girl looked behind her and gave a tiny smile. "Hi, Cleric Daniel."

"Is everything all right? Or do you need a moment?"

"_Just get me the money. I don't care how long it takes."_

Carla hesitated. She wanted to confide in Daniel, to tell him everything that had happened over the past two days and everything she was afraid was going to happen. But she knew she couldn't do that. She couldn't even talk to Arceus - how could she confide in one of His clerics?

"I think I'm fine," she said after a moment. Daniel smiled and started to move away, but Carla knew she hadn't fooled him.

Suddenly, Daniel stopped and looked back. "Sometimes you don't need to say anything," he said. "Just know there's always someone listening." With that, he was walking away again.

Carla stayed where she was, watching the sunlight shift across the floor. Eventually, she stood up and went over to the smaller of the two chapels on the right. She lit a single candle, just as she had done every week for seven years. Instinctively, she reached up to touch the blue triangle pendant she always wore around her neck.

"Look after them," she whispered.

* * *

"Hi, Carla."

Carla shut the front door behind her. "Hey, Dad," she called.

"Could you come in here for a moment?"

The hallway was slowly growing dark, but the light was on in the kitchen. Carla spotted Nadine's tail swishing on the floor; the Mightyena raised her head when Carla walked into the room. Carla smiled down at her but didn't try to pet her.

Theo Saverre was sitting at the table, a large mug of coffee resting in his hands. Carla could see silver threads weaving their way slowly through his dark blond hair.

"How was work?" she asked.

"Busy. I didn't get half the things done that I wanted to." He took a large gulp of coffee. "Glennis seems upset about something."

Carla wasn't sure what to say. _She broke up with her boyfriend_ was out of the question, not least because their dad had told Glennis to break up with Will six months ago.

She decided on: "I don't think she wants to talk about it." It was a nice way of implying that trying to speak to Glennis about what was troubling her was the same as poking an enraged Beartic.

Theo winced. "Boy trouble?"

"Kind of."

"Come sit down. I've got something you might be interested in."

Carla sat down just as Theo pushed something across the table. Carla looked down and nearly clapped a hand over her mouth.

It was a prospectus for a beginner's course in coordinating.

"Well, what do you think?" Theo was beaming. "There's an application form in the back; if you like what you see, why not fill it out?"

"I...I don't even have a pokémon yet, Dad."

"You don't need one to go on the course. But your birthday is coming up soon; you need to let me know now if you've got any requests. Have you changed your mind about wanting an Ice-type?"

She did still want an Ice-type. And she still wanted to be a coordinator. She wanted it with everything she had, but if it was a choice between her ambitions and her family's safety…

"_You don't tell __**anyone**__ about this. Tell your dad or the police and I'll kill all three of you. Try and run away and I'll kill all three of you. And if you can't get the money…you know what'll happen. Got it?"_

No. There was no choice.

"No, Dad, I haven't."

"Well, let me know if you've got anything specific in mind and I'll see what I can do." He put something else on the table. "We had a visitor at work today - he was giving out a new version of the heal ball. It's programmed to heal the pokémon every time it's returned, not just after capture. Hope you can make better use of it than I would."

Carla took the tiny capsule in her free hand. "Thank you, Dad."

He could stop her from getting a licence or a pokémon, but there was nothing he could do once she was out there in the wild. Police wouldn't get involved unless the trainer had done something illegal and they had no time to go after runaway trainers - not least because there were so many. Carla wasn't the first person to become a trainer without parental consent and she wouldn't be the last.

Someone running away from home and _not_ becoming a trainer was an entirely different matter.

Her father wouldn't be able to legally confiscate her licence or pokémon, either. Parents had been arrested for that, as taking away a trainer's licence and any pokémon belonging to him or her counted as theft. Of course, the trainers had to _prove_ their parents had stolen their licence or pokémon and that wouldn't be so easy.

"Now, I'm going to start getting supper ready," Theo said. "Why don't you go and read that prospectus and give it some thought?"

"I will. Thanks, Dad."

Carla went up the stairs. Glennis' door was open; one look at her sister's face and Carla knew she'd heard the conversation that had just taken place.

"I talked to Sandra," she said. "She told me it's OK to send her the packages, and then she'll give them to you when you go into work. Oh, and start acting natural. Dad's starting to get suspicious."

Glennis' dark eyes were shimmering with tears. "I'm sorry, Carly."

Carla shook her head. "It's not your fault."

"It kind of is."

"No, it _isn't_." Carla slipped into her bedroom and closed it behind her before she could say anything else, or before she could start crying herself.

She put the prospectus and Heal Ball on her bed and pulled the pamphlet Estelle had given her out from under her bed.

_**Trainer Guidelines by The ****Poké****mon and Trainer Protection League**_

Carla's eyes roamed over the words, ignoring the bit about getting her number registered to TrainNet and making sure her vaccinations were up to date. It was the next few paragraphs she wanted to read.

_**If your gut tells you there is trouble ahead, there probably is. Get somewhere safe or call the following number for help...**_

_**Should you find yourself injured or poisoned, call the following helpline immediately...**_

**WARNING:** _**Hoenn has seen an increase in gang activity in recent years. Anyone discovered as belonging to a gang will be banned from training for one year. Anyone discovered belonging to Team Scythe will be blacklisted permanently.**_

_**Should you have an encounter with a trainer gang, please call the following number...**_

_**Should you have an encounter with Team Scythe, please call...**_

"_This your little sister?"_

Carla felt her fists clench.

Most of the gangs the pamphlet mentioned were nothing to worry about. They were made of people who thought they could use the fear Teams Magma and Aqua had caused with The Awakening to show they too were fearsome and not to be trifled with.

Archie and Maxie quickly taught them that they were _not_ fearsome.

Team Scythe was different. Maybe Archie and Maxie's actions made them bolder, or maybe they were better organised and more formidable than the other 'teams' running around Hoenn. But when several trainers reported their pokémon had been stolen, it didn't take Hoenn officials long to realise all the thefts had been carried out by the same group of people - or by several groups of people working for one person. Carla couldn't remember who'd come up with the nickname 'Team Scythe'. It was probably Gabby Galloway. Apparently, the Scythe leader liked the name so much, he or she decided to make it official.

Carla looked down at her new phone and slowly punched in a number. Her finger was visibly shaking, and she hoped against hope her father wouldn't hear her speaking.

She had her licence, her camping gear, her notebook, a good strong bag, clothes and just enough money for supplies. There was only one thing missing.

Wait. She was forgetting something else. She got up, walked over to her chest of drawers and took out a small black scarf. Hurrying back to the bed, she sat down and pressed the 'call' button on her phone, the scarf lying across her knees.

They had to be open. It wasn't too late. They _had_ to be open.

"Thank you for calling Birch Laboratories. Please select from the following options: If you are interested in obtaining a starter pokémon, say..."

"One."

* * *

"You OK?" Bobby asked. He sounded genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine," Carla replied. He wasn't talking about how she felt after teleporting and they both knew it.

She wasn't going to think about saying goodbye to Glennis - or the letter she'd told her sister to give to their father. It had taken her eleven tries to get the letter right, and even then the words looked flimsy and pathetic.

Mist hung over the trees surrounding Littleroot. Carla could feel its cool heaviness inside her lungs. The town's inhabitants were just beginning to emerge from their houses and go about their day. It was easy to identify the building she was after - it was the largest one in town.

"Good luck." Bobby patted Carla on the shoulder once, then he and Syke were gone. Carla steeled herself and walked towards the lab.

The door slid open in welcome, revealing a tall, tanned figure with spiky brown hair. "Hi! You're here for a starter, aren't you?"

Carla couldn't speak. Out of all the people working in Birch Laboratories, she hadn't been expecting _him_ to greet her.

"You _are_ the new trainer we're expecting?"

"Y-yes. I am. I'm Carla."

Brendan Birch smiled. "Great! Come on in. Do you want to see the lab starters, or the ones we've got in the playroom?"

"The playroom, please," Carla said decisively.

It wasn't unusual for trainers to let Professors study their team members in the labs. Sometimes, the trainer would return to find an egg waiting for them. If they didn't take it, the egg would stay with the Professor and hatch in the lab. New trainers who didn't want a regional starter would be offered the chance to choose a starter from the 'hatchlings' in the playroom. A bonus was that the hatchlings inherited interesting moves from at least one of their parents.

Brendan led her down a long white corridor. He wasn't the only person in the laboratory; assistants in white lab coats walked past them, most of them carrying datapads. Carla saw two of them trying to suppress yawns.

"Here we are."

The playroom was full of small creatures, all of them running around and chasing each other. Carla was surprised to spot a Cyndaquil amongst them. It would be a strong pokémon to have as a starter, and it would be formidable as a Typhlosion...but for some reason she wasn't sure it was the right one for her. She fingered her pendant, hoping she would make the right choice.

Then she noticed one of the little pokémon had stopped to catch its breath. Wisps of cold air came out of its mouth as it panted, each one with tiny glittering specks inside. After a moment, it saw Carla watching and toddled towards her on stubby black legs.

Feeling suddenly shy, Carla knelt on the floor, ignoring the cold as it seeped into her jeans. "Hi," she whispered, hoping she wasn't imagining the tiny voice inside her saying _this is the one_. "I'm Carla. Do you want to come with me?"

It nodded eagerly twice, bending its entire body forward in the process.

Carla sighed with relief.

"You want the Snorunt?"

She'd almost forgotten Brendan was there. "Yes," she replied decisively.

Soon, she was standing in the lobby with Brendan showing her how to use her brand new pokédex. Trainers who received a starter from the lab always left with a dex and six capsules, regardless of whether the starter came from the playroom or was one of the three regionals.

"If you return the Snorunt - yeah, like that - and then scan its pokéball with your dex, it'll give you all the information on it and on anything you capture." Brendan turned the dex over and showed Carla a small black bar on the base. "That's what you use to scan it."

Carla ran the Snorunt's capsule under the bar.

**Species:**** Snorunt**

**Gender:**** Female**

**Move Set:**** Powder Snow, Leer, Double Team, Weather Ball**

She knew Weather Ball? That was going to be interesting if they ever ran across any Fire-types on a wet or cloudy day.

"No offence, but I've got another trainer coming in about half an hour," Brendan apologised. "See you around - and good luck!" With one final grin, he walked down the corridor again.

Carla called out the Snorunt again. "You need a name," she said. It needed to be short and simple, and quick to call out in battle. The trouble was, naming a pokémon was much more difficult when said pokémon was standing right in front of you.

"What do you think of..." Carla paused, trying to think of something and eventually settling upon a name she'd always liked. "…Zoe?"

The Snorunt seemed to think for a moment. Then she nodded again.

Carla was surprised. She hadn't expected her to take to the _first_ name she said. "All right. Zoe it is!"

Zoe's mouth widened in a grin.

"Before we leave, there's something I need to tell you."

That was when Carla's plan took an unexpected turn.

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to be possible."

Carla turned away from Zoe to see an assistant talking to a man in a black suit. The stranger almost seemed to tower over the assistant, who was shaking her head in protest.

"My daughter is unable to handle it." The suited man held out a pokéball to the assistant. "It won't keep still, it makes a terrible noise every time it sees her...it's simply unsuitable to be a pet."

"Then I suggest next time you take her to someone who breeds pokémon exclusively _as_ pets," the assistant retorted. "And you can't just return a pokémon to the lab like some kind of baggage you don't want!"

Judging from the way the man's thick eyebrows drew together, he obviously thought he could. "Well, we can't keep the little nuisance."

Carla had heard enough. No pokémon deserved to be treated like that. Before she realised what she was doing, she was marching over to the man and saying in a loud voice: "I'll take it."

**Thanks for reading so far! Please leave a review.**

**Carla's personality in 'The Spectre' is vastly different from the one she has in 'Dreams of Fire'. It was a lot of fun reimagining her with Slytherin traits and characteristics.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you next time.**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Canary' by Joy Williams.**


	3. 2: Let's Find Out Where It Goes

Chapter Two: Let's Find Out Where It Goes

The assistant stared at Carla.

"Excuse me?" the man said slowly.

Carla stood up straighter and looked him in the eye. "If your daughter doesn't want that pokémon, I'll take it."

"Oh. Well, then. Thank you, young lady." The man dropped the capsule into Carla's waiting hand. "And as for you," he said, turning his gaze on the assistant, "I don't appreciate the way you spoke to me. I'll be having a word with your superiors about this."

The assistant flushed but stood her ground, returning his glare until he spun around and walked out of the lab, his shoes making loud clacking noises on the floor.

Carla looked down at the heavy capsule - and then saw Zoe standing by her feet, looking up at her with blue, unblinking eyes.

Then it hit her. What had she just done? Beginning a journey with one pokémon could be problematic enough, but _two_...

She could do this. She wouldn't go back on her word.

After quickly scanning the pokéball with her dex, she read the information that appeared on the screen.

**Species:**** Vullaby**

**Gender:**** Female**

**Move Set:**** Gust, Leer, Fury Attack, Fake Tears**

Carla stared at the letters in bewilderment. She'd never even heard of this species before. They couldn't be native to Hoenn.

"Are you sure you want to take this one?"

Carla looked at the assistant. "Yes. I'm sure. I'll take care of her."

There was only one way out of Littleroot Town.

Carla walked down the grassy path, keeping an eye out for wild pokémon. She deliberately avoided areas where the trees were clustered a little too close together for her liking. Oldale Town wasn't that far ahead, but she didn't want to run into anything she couldn't handle.

Maybe it would be a good idea to stay in the area and train for a bit. If her first battling encounter wasn't with a wild pokémon, it would be with a trainer and Carla couldn't afford to have an unprepared team.

Just ahead of her, the trees thinned to form a tiny alcove. It looked like the perfect place for a private conversation - or a training session. Carla walked into it and released both her team members, tossing the capsules high into the air.

As soon as she saw Zoe, the Vullaby screeched loudly and hopped over to her. She bobbed up and down, flapping her tiny wings excitedly and shrieking over and over again. The sound was harsh in the cool morning air.

"Hey!" Carla said, but the Vullaby ignored her. Either that, or she couldn't hear her new trainer's voice.

"_Hey_!" Carla called again. Eventually she lost patience and clapped her hands together as loudly as she could. The Vullaby went quiet and looked at Carla in surprise.

"Um...Hi, there. I'm Carla, and I'm guessing you remember Zoe." Of course she did. They had probably played together in the lab.

The Vullaby looked around expectantly, as if hoping to see somebody. Carla swallowed. How could she tell the Vullaby her previous owner had given her away?

The little bird blinked twice. She looked so confused that Carla felt her heart twist.

"I...Your previous trainer...the girl who was looking after you last, she thought you'd be better off with me. But she said to tell you she loves you and she hopes you'll be happy. I promised I'd take care of you, and I will."

The Vullaby tilted her head to one side, as if measuring Carla up in some way. Then she hopped once. Hoping that meant she'd been accepted, Carla knelt in front of her. "You're going to need a new name, like Zoe has. Do you like the sound of Tess?"

A screech was the only reply.

"Is that a yes?" When the Vullaby screeched again, Carla decided it was.

She remained kneeling on the grass, making sure that she was facing both her Pokémon. "We're going to have to work hard. Really hard. I need both of you to be as tough as you can get. My sister is in trouble, and…"

Tess tilted her head to one side again. Zoe blinked twice; she looked as if she was frowning.

"My sister. She's…" Oh. Zoe and Tess probably didn't even know what a sister was. "My…my hatchmate is in trouble."

Zoe exhaled loudly as if to say: _**Now**__ I understand_. The sigh sent ice crystals into the morning air.

"We can help her, but we need to get stronger. _Much_ stronger. Reckon we can do that?" Carla asked, deliberately making it sound like a challenge.

Tess cheeped loudly. Carla looked at Zoe and saw the Snorunt was grinning widely. The idea of becoming stronger clearly appealed to her.

Carla felt herself grinning back. They were going to get on _very_ well indeed.

If she needed to have a strong team, she needed to start training immediately. The trouble was, she knew very little about Snorunt and nothing at all about Vullaby. She would have to do some research on them when she got to Oldale.

She took out her dex and had another look at her team's moves again, unsure what they should work on first.

"Zoe, how fast can you do a Double Team?"

The air around Zoe shimmered and the next moment Carla and Tess were surrounded by a circle of six identical Snorunt. Tess jumped and hurried to stand beside Carla, her feathers standing on end.

"Hey, it's OK," Carla told her. Then she had an idea. "Can you tell which is the real one?"

Tess studied the six Snorunt as closely as she could, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at each one. Carla nearly bit her lip. If this was an actual battle, Zoe would have landed a strong hit by now.

Suddenly, Tess launched herself at one of the Snorunt. As soon as she touched it, it disappeared into thin air; Tess looked around and ran right at the next one.

"No, wait, don't..."

The second clone disappeared, and Tess continued to run through the circle until she bumped into the real Zoe, who toppled over onto her side. The Vullaby puffed herself up and looked at Carla as if to say: _I win!_

"Good! We're going to try that again. Zoe, try and create the clones faster this - and Tess, you need to spot the real Zoe _first time_. In a battle, your opponent's not going to wait for you to find it."

Tess watched as the clones surrounded her, her eyes following each one. As soon as the circle was complete, she ran straight towards number five - which didn't vanish.

"That's great. Do that again."

It was only when Tess had correctly identified Zoe five times in a row that Carla realised they were both starting to pant slightly. "That's enough - let's rest for a bit."

Zoe and Tess sat down simultaneously on the grass. Carla knelt beside them and gave them both a small amount of water from her bottle. She had no intention of going to Oldale until all three of them had adjusted to each other and could work as a team - and that might take at least the rest of the day.

Then again, she couldn't afford to waste time.

She glanced up at the sky. The mist had mostly cleared, but the sky was covered with a blanket of clouds. Carla was curious to see how Weather Ball worked, especially when it was a day like this. Would it be a ball of fire or water?

"Zoe, could you use Weather Ball on that tree over there?" she asked, pointing towards one with a large, thick trunk. Zoe got up and shot a single ball of white energy at the tree. Carla frowned; was that what it normally looked like? Or was that just...

"Hey."

She turned around. A boy about her age was watching her, his arms folded across his chest. He had spiky blond hair and wore a pale green jacket. "Are you a trainer?" he asked.

"I...Yes." Carla stood up. Yes, she was.

"Good!" The boy grinned and reached into his pocket. He took out a shiny new pokéball. "Let's battle."

Her first instinct was to say no. They were supposed to be resting - but a battle was a battle, and winnings were winnings. She'd just have to hope she won.

Carla looked down at her pokémon, and saw they were both looking up at her expectantly. She hesitated for a moment. How did trainers choose which pokémon to send out? They always made it look so easy.

"Come on, I don't have all day!"

"Tess, you're up." As Tess toddled forward, Carla gave Zoe an apologetic look. "You'll get the next one, Zoe."

"All right!" The boy tossed his capsule into the air. "Come on out, Abraxas!"

A Treecko landed on the ground and stared at Tess through narrowed yellow eyes.

"Use Pound!"

Abraxas leapt into the air.

Carla yelled the first thing that came into her head. "Gust!"

Tess flapped her wings twice, sending a small blast of air right up at Abraxas. He yelped and was blown off course, landing heavily on his side. He scrambled back up and glared at Tess and Carla furiously, his tiny fists clenched.

"Use Leer, Abraxas!"

Abraxas' eyes narrowed even further. Carla felt herself recoil just as Tess let out a started cheep and started to shiver.

"Use Pound again!" the boy ordered.

"Dodge it, Tess!"

Tess moved aside just in time; Abraxas' tail slammed into the ground right next to her. Hissing furiously, the Treecko brought his fist around and punched Tess in the face. She shrieked and stumbled backwards.

"What the...Abraxas, that wasn't an attack!" the boy shouted.

"No," Carla growled, "but this is. Fury Attack!"

Tess launched herself at Abraxas and jabbed at him repeatedly with her beak. He squealed and brought up his arms to try and shield himself but it was no use. He doubled over, arms around his middle.

Time to end this. "Gust again."

Abraxas was sent flying into the air again, limbs and tail flailing. His trainer ran forward and caught him before he could hit the ground. He cradled the small green form in his arms for a moment and looked down at him. Abraxas' eyes were closed, and his tail dangled above the grass.

The boy returned him silently.

"Is he going to be OK?" Carla heard herself ask.

"Yeah. Should be." He didn't look at her. He unzipped his backpack and slapped some notes into Carla's hand before running out of the alcove.

"You did great, Tess," Carla said. Tess puffed her chest out proudly; Zoe came to stand beside her, grinning.

Carla took out her notebook and wrote down the amount she'd been given.

$20735 to go.

* * *

The Oldale Centre was set right in the middle of town; it was surrounded by small cottages, each one with flowers growing in the window boxes. A group of Taillow swooped happily above the buildings, their shadows flitting across the grass.

Carla walked right towards the Centre. It was surprisingly quiet inside, and there was nobody standing in front of the nurse. There were other people inside the Centre, but they were in the seating area, watching a programme on a screen with the volume almost completely on silent.

The nurse perked up as soon as she saw Carla approaching. "Hi! Welcome to the Oldale Centre; how may I help you?"

"Could I get my team looked at, please?" Carla placed Zoe and Tess' capsules on the counter. "And do you have any padded envelopes?"

"We do. What size would you like?" The nurse showed Carla a small selection of envelopes; Carla hesitated a moment before picking the smallest size. She didn't have that much money at the moment, but that would change - and soon.

"Do you want a room as well?"

"Yes, please. A single."

She couldn't stay in Oldale for long. There would be stronger trainers around Petalburg - but Carla would need to do more training with her team, and it didn't look like there were any serious trainers in Oldale. Best of all, she would be able to send off the first package as soon as she and her team had eaten.

Speaking of her team… "Can I use the computers here?"

"We've only got one computer," the nurse said, pointing towards a solitary machine tucked away in a corner, "and you can only use it for half an hour. Do you have an account?"

Carla shook her head.

"It's simple; you just click on 'Create New Account' and fill in your name and your trainer ID, then it'll ask you to create a password. Once that's done, you'll be able to log in to any of the computers on the network, as long as they're in a Centre. I'll let you know when your team's ready for you."

Once she was at the computer, Carla quickly filled in the section asking for her name. She couldn't remember her ID number, so she was forced to look at her trainer ID to fill in the second section.

She would have to memorise her ID number, and quickly.

Next was 'Password'. Carla's fingers paused, hovering over the keyboard. Then, slowly and carefully, she typed in her chosen words, carefully inserting numbers and symbols where necessary before pressing 'Enter'.

On the desktop was an icon for the National Trading System. Next to it was the database Carla was after. She clicked on it and was faced with the option of either typing the name of the pokémon she was looking for in the simple search or narrowing her options down through the advanced search.

She needed to keep it simple, so she typed 'Vullaby' into the single search engine and clicked on the picture that came up.

Vullaby was half-Dark, half-Flying and was native to the Unova region. It was quite rare in Unova as well; when the time came for them to evolve, they discarded the bones they wore and gathered new ones.

It would take a long time for Tess to evolve. But Carla found she didn't mind that. Tess' future evolution, Mandibuzz, looked formidable.

A line of text on Vullaby's entry said _Female counterpart to Rufflet_. Intrigued, Carla looked up Rufflet on the National database and saw it was actually rather sweet, with a single coloured feather sticking up in the middle of the ring of fluff around its head. Its evolved form - Braviary - was magnificent, with a wingspan of between six to eight feet.

Carla had spent enough time researching Tess' species. Now it was time to move on to Zoe's.

Judging from their range of attacks, Snorunts' main strengths were their icy attacks and the strength of their jaws. They could deliver a nasty series of bite attacks, which would be even stronger once they evolved into Glalie.

Zoe would need to become much more powerful in order to become a Glalie. It wouldn't take her as long to evolve as it would Tess, but it would still be a while.

No wonder she had looked so excited at the prospect of getting stronger.

Then Carla noticed the second picture. Snorunt had a secondary means of evolution. Carla frowned; she'd forgotten about that. She clicked on the picture.

Blue eyes set in a white face stared back at her from the screen. They weren't sharp and fierce like a Glalie's; instead, they were hooded and had a sinister slant to them, as if the creature knew a secret and was refusing to tell.

It was called a Froslass. It was a female-only species and, interestingly, was half-Ghost. In Sinnoh, it was known as the Lady of the Snow and the Winter Ghost. Disappointingly, Froslass were most often found in Sinnoh because their means of evolution - dawn stones - grew close to the height of Mt Coronet.

Now that Carla thought of it, Glacia from Hoenn's Elite Four had at least one Froslass on her team. Carla wondered how much she'd had to pay for the dawn stones - and how quickly it had taken May's Blaziken to defeat them.

Well, she wasn't going to be able to afford a dawn stone. In fact, she wasn't all that keen on evolutionary stones at the moment, so she decided to distract herself by focusing on something else.

Like the trainer blacklist.

There were many reasons a trainer could end up on the blacklist. Abuse and neglect of their pokémon was the primary reason, using a pokémon to attack a person for any reason other than self-defence or to protect someone else or your team was the second. Trainers could be put on the blacklist for a certain period of time, and were taken off it if they behaved themselves. If they didn't, they could end up on the list permanently.

The Pokémon League and the PTPL kept a record of people who kept on training even after they'd been blacklisted. As Carla scrolled down the list and names and photographs on the official 'rogues gallery', one of the photos suddenly went dark and then brightened back into colour again, with the word CAPTURED stamped across it diagonally in thick black letters.

"Girl with the long hair, your team's ready!"

Carla logged off and went to collect Zoe and Tess. After putting the capsules away, she put the money from the battle into the envelope given to her by the nurse.

"Is there a postbox around?" she asked.

"There's one just outside."

Good. Sandra should get the envelope the day after tomorrow, if not earlier.

* * *

"Tess, use Fury Attack!"

Tess launched herself at the Wurmple and unleashed a shower of pecks on it. Carla gritted her teeth in frustration. This was the fourth day in the route, and she had had just about enough of wild pokémon attacking her and her team.

When people talked about the wonderful experiences they had as trainers, they didn't mention how an attack could literally come from nowhere, or setting up a tent before it got too dark, or trying to build a fire while wondering if the light meant you could expect a visit from an unfriendly Poochyena.

Tess stepped back from the Wurmple, her head cocked on one side. It looked like it was unconscious.

"Good job, Tess," Carla sighed. She looked up at the sky, which was beginning to fade into orange and crimson. "We'd better set up camp soon. I don't know how far Petalburg is..._Look out_!"

Tess whirled around; white darts thudded into her chest. She sat down heavily, shivering and watching as the Wurmple scuttled away as quickly as it could.

Carla hurried over to her. "Tess, are you OK?"

The Vullaby's feathers were ruffled, and she couldn't seem to stop shivering. Carla's heart sank. Tess had been poisoned, and there were no more antidotes. Carla had used the last one on Zoe yesterday and after sending the package she'd only had enough money to buy food in Oldale, not medicine.

Carla looked around frantically, trying to spot anyone walking around. The surrounding trees were blending into a murky darkness; she couldn't even see any other wild pokémon.

She scooped Tess up, cradling her carefully. "Hold on, Tess. We're going to find help."

_Latias, please let there be someone who can help._

Carla started to jog; she needed to make sure she stayed in the centre of the path. She couldn't trip over any exposed tree roots. Tess made a tiny sound in her throat and started to heave in Carla's arms. Recognising the signs, Carla stopped and tried to put her down, but it was too late.

Tess vomited on Carla's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tess. I'm sorry." _This is all my fault._

If there were other trainers on the route, there was a chance they would have an antidote. Or maybe they'd reach Petalburg if she just kept going. Carla's feet ached and her lungs were burning, but that didn't matter. She had to keep going, for Tess' sake.

Wait. She could see a building.

The orange glow in the sky had darkened to mauve; dark shadows were lying across Carla's path, but she could definitely make out a house ahead of her. It was partially sheltered by three large trees. To Carla's dismay, there were no lights on inside.

That didn't mean there was nobody home.

Carla's eyes darted towards the trees. She knew what pecha berry trees looked like, but they were surrounded by a fence and she wouldn't be able to climb over it. She hurried over to the door, adjusted Tess so that she was held only in one arm and knocked twice.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

There was no answer.

Carla tried again. "Please, my Vullaby's been poisoned! Please can I have a berry?"

Nothing.

Tess shivered again. Fighting back a wave of desperation, Carla placed a hand on the doorknob and rattled it furiously.

It turned in her grip. Carla froze, staring down at it. Then, slowly, very carefully, she turned it all the way, heart in her mouth and praying she wasn't making a horrible mistake.

The interior of the house was as dark as the route outside. Carla waited until her eyes had adjusted before carefully taking a few steps inside, hoping her backpack wouldn't scrape against the walls - or anything valuable.

"Hello?" she called, her voice trembling slightly. "Anyone home?"

Tentatively, she closed the door behind them. The _click_ echoed around the hallway like a gun being cocked. Carla shuddered and moved forward. There really didn't seem to be anyone home - not even a pokémon. The stairs were ahead of her, but just to the right was a room that looked like a kitchen.

Carla walked into the kitchen and nearly sobbed with relief when she saw a door that led to the garden - and the key was still in the latch. She tried the door, unlocked it and slipped out into the air.

There was still a little daylight left. Carla looked around until she spotted a single fruit lying at the base of a tree. She hurried over, careful not to jostle Tess too much and picked up the pecha berry.

"Here you go, Tess. Eat this."

The Vullaby turned her head away miserably.

"It's OK. It'll get rid of the poison." Carla steered the fruit towards the small beak again. "Please, Tess, just trust me."

As Tess took the first peck, Carla nearly smiled out of sheer bitterness. If she couldn't even provide the things her pokémon needed, why should they trust her at all?

The first few gulps were slow and tentative; then, as the berry's healing properties took effect, Tess ate faster and faster until all that was left was the stone in Carla's juice-stained palm.

"How do you feel?" Carla asked.

Tess cawed happily, flapping her wings. Carla laughed and nearly hugged her tighter - then realised her hoodie was still stained with vomit.

There had to be a bathroom somewhere in the house.

It didn't take her long to find it: up the stairs and two doors on the right. She put Tess down with strict instructions to stay in the room and not run around, then took off her backpack and set it on the floor with a sigh of relief. The straps had been digging into her shoulders. Carla removed her fleece and changed her T-shirt, shuddering slightly as the sticky material came away.

She washed her hoodie and T-shirt as well as she could in the sink and squeezed them out as much as she could. After she booked into the Petalburg Centre, the best thing to do was find a launderette and wash her hair, not necessarily in that...

There was a noise from downstairs. Carla froze, eyes wide, heart beating wildly.

Someone had just closed the front door.

**Uh-oh...**

**Hope you like it so far. Please leave a review!**

**This chapter's title comes from 'No Hopers, Jokers and Rogues' by The Fisherman's Friends.**


	4. 3: Edges Have Always Been Rough

Chapter Three: Edges Have Always Been Rough

Carla listened intently, but there was no indication that the newcomer was coming up the stairs.

The light came on downstairs. Would they see the dirty footprints she must have left on the carpet? Would they sense something was wrong and go up the stairs - or worse, call the police?

A tiny shape toddled towards the bathroom entrance. Carla darted forwards and snatched Tess up, whispering desperately before the Vullaby could make any noise: "Stay quiet, and don't go anywhere. We are in _serious_ trouble."

Tess went completely still and quiet.

Carla stuffed the T-shirt into her bag and tied the still-wet hoodie around her waist. She put Tess down for a moment while she put the rucksack back on, picked Tess up again and, quickly as she could, crept towards the top of the stairs.

Judging from the sounds, the person was in the kitchen making something to eat.

Every second felt like an hour, but eventually Carla's feet touched the hallway carpet. _Arceus, please don't let the door be locked._ Heart in her mouth, she crept towards the door.

The sound of the radio coming on made her jump sharply; she was barely able to stop herself from dropping Tess. She glanced towards the kitchen. The person wasn't visible, but his shadow was lying across the floor.

The doorknob was cold under her palm. Still praying with all her mind, Carla turned it as carefully as she could.

It wasn't locked.

Barely stifling a sob of relief, she opened the door until it was halfway open. Then she slipped through, careful not to trap her bag against the door and closed the door softly.

It was just at that moment that Tess cheeped. Carla froze again, then started running away from the house. She thought she heard the door open behind her, thought she heard a voice call after her, but she didn't stop. She just kept running and running until her feet screamed and Tess cried out in protest. Only then did she stop, surrounded by trees and shadows.

"It's OK, Tess," she gasped out. "I'm sorry. It's OK." She dropped to her knees and perched Tess on her lap, panting heavily.

That could never happen again. Carla had pushed their luck too far. A trainer's first priority was their team's wellbeing, otherwise they didn't deserve to even be trainers at all.

_From now on, your team comes first._

Glennis would understand.

Something soft nudged Carla's cheek. Tess was looking at her, eyes shining in the dim light.

"I'll be careful from now on," Carla promised. "We'll never run out of medicine again."

Her mind went back to the man in the house. He must have been so scared. But then, he might not even have known she'd been in the house at all.

Carla shook her head derisively. He'd know. He'd be able to _smell_ she'd been there.

That didn't matter now. What did matter was that she was out in the woods at night, and she should have set up camp ages ago. Someone else already had - there was a definite hint of smoke in the air. Or maybe she could keep walking, and hope she wasn't too far away from Petalburg...

A piercing scream shattered the silence. Carla sprang to her feet, eyes staring into the darkness. There was no way that had been human.

The shriek that followed _was_.

She started running again, ignoring the stitch that jabbed into her gut like a spear. A dim glow began to appear down the path just ahead of her.

It was the remains of a campfire; it was now almost completely burned down but gave off just enough light to illuminate a small pink tent. A girl was crouching beside the fire, hands clasped over her head. Something was floating around her, its crimson eyes fixed on its target.

"Leave me alone, leave me alone!" the girl sobbed.

Then the Misdreavus saw Carla. It paused in mid-air.

There was no time to think. "Gust!"

Tess flapped her wings at the Misdreavus. It cried out as the wind blew it upwards before regaining its balance, narrowing its eyes. Tess wriggled out of Carla's arms and screeched a challenge to the hovering enemy.

In response, the Misdreavus let out a tiny growl. Tess faltered, putting her head on one side.

"It's tricking you, Tess! Don't let it!"

Then the Misdreavus screamed again. Carla yelped, clapping her hands over her ears just as Tess jumped sharply.

"Use Gust again!" Carla yelled, not waiting for her ears to stop ringing.

The Misdreavus' scream rose sharply as the attack blew it higher in the air. Carla quickly zipped open her began and rummaged inside until she found what she was looking for. She hurled the capsule at the Misdreavus before it could recover.

The ball snapped shut and fell to the ground, rocking from side to side. Carla held her breath, clenching her fists. Then the capsule went still, a soft 'click' echoing in the air.

Carla sighed with relief, and then saw what she'd used to catch the Misdreavus.

_Hope you can make better use of it than I would._

"Oh my gosh, thank you! I can't believe you just caught it like that!"

It was the girl. Her black hair was wild and rumpled, and her blue eyes stood out sharply in her pale, scared face. She was wearing dark pink pyjamas with Duckletts on them.

"Are you OK?" Carla heard herself ask.

The girl nodded shakily. "I think so. I was just about to go to bed when it started screaming and I got so scared!" She sat down, running her hands through her hair.

Carla dimly remembered reading something about Misdreavus feeding on fear. It had probably been hungry; it might not have been going to hurt the girl, even if it had been using Astonish.

Realising she couldn't think of her Misdreavus as 'it' anymore, Carla scanned the capsule with her dex.

**Species:**** Misdreavus**

**Gender:**** Female**

**Move Set:**** Growl, Spite, Psywave, Astonish**

"What are you doing out here?" The other girl had scrambled to her feet and was looking at Carla curiously. "I didn't think anyone would be out so late."

"My Vullaby got poisoned and I didn't set up camp in time."

"Oh." The girl frowned. "Is it all right?"

Carla glanced down at Tess, who looked as if she'd never been poisoned at all. "Yeah, she's fine. You did great, Tess."

"Do you want to share my camp?" the black-haired girl offered. "My name's Tally."

Carla would be an idiot not to take up the offer. "Thanks. I'm Carla." She looked down at the Vullaby again. "Stay here, Tess, and don't go anywhere."

With Tess watching from the side, Carla took out her green tent and started to pitch it next to Tally's pink one. But it was almost completely pitch black now, and the dying glow of the fire only illuminated so much.

Carla couldn't see clearly enough to pitch the tent properly. It was difficult to see which pole went where in the dark.

"Do you want some help?"

"Yes, please." Again, Carla wished she'd set up camp when she had the chance.

Tally hurried over and picked up one of the poles. "I don't like setting up in the dark. It's scary, isn't it? I didn't even know there were Misdreavus in the area."

"Neither did I." Carla concentrated on finding the correct holes in the tent fabric.

"Are you going to Petalburg or Oldale?"

"Petalburg."

"I'm going there too. But Oldale's very pretty, isn't it? I loved all the flowers in the windows!" When Tally stood up, Carla saw grass stains on the knees of her pyjamas. "Where does this one go?"

"Right up here, at the top." Carla held the tent steady while Tally inserted the pole carefully through the correct loops.

"So how long have you been on the road?" Tally asked. "Are you an actual trainer?"

"I… Only a couple of days. And yes, I am an actual trainer." It felt strange to admit that, but Carla brushed the feeling aside.

"I am, too. At least, I guess I am. I don't have any badges or anything. Do you come from Oldale?"

"No; I just got my starter from Birch Labs." Carla glanced to her right to check Tess hadn't wandered off. The Vullaby was standing by the fireside, watching the proceedings.

"Really? Did you get a Torchic, Treecko or Mudkip?"

"Snorunt." Carla was about to leave it there, but it would have been rude not to ask Tally what her starter was. "What was yours?"

"Cleffa. Her name's Treble." Carla could hear the smile in Tally's voice. "Could you pass me those silver pegs?"

Once the pegs were pushed into the ground, Carla sighed with relief. She couldn't wait to crawl into her sleeping-bag and get some rest. "Thanks for helping me."

Tally smiled brightly. "Not a problem!"

There was one more thing Carla needed to do before going to bed. She took out Zoe's pokéball and released her; the Snorunt landed on the ground next to Tess. "Zoe, Tess, I want to introduce you to our new teammate." Carla pressed the heal ball's button and the Misdreavus burst out of it. She looked down at Zoe and Tess with narrowed, searching eyes.

"Hello."

The Misdreavus turned around slowly to look at Carla.

"My name's Carla; you've probably figured that I'm your new trainer. This is Zoe, and you've already met Tess."

The small ghost blinked once.

"You're going to need a name too."

"She looks like she's wearing a necklace, doesn't she?" Tally said. "I read about a coordinator in Sinnoh - think she's called Davena - with a Mismagius called Jewel. You could name her Ruby, or Garnet!"

The Misdreavus didn't look like a Ruby or a Garnet. She needed a name that would roll off the tongue easily in battle.

And it needed to be quirky. Almost…_mischievous_.

Carla's mind roamed around until it landed on a name that seemed to fit.

"Rakel," she said, folding her arms. "Your name's Rakel. Welcome to the team."

* * *

"Here you go," Tally said as she held out another piece of dried pecha.

"Thank you." Carla wished she had something to share. All she had for breakfast was an energy bar that was so small, it couldn't even be broken in half.

She tried to eat, but her eyes kept going back to the figure a short way away from her. When the Spoink came down from a bounce, she would swipe up some food and eat it, chewing about once or twice before swallowing it and then snatching up the next bit.

"Is there any water in Petalburg?"

Surprised at the question, Carla answered: "I don't know. Why?"

"I need to feed Boing, and I can't let him out here. I can't feed him with Treble and Glossie," Tally said, gesturing towards the Spoink and the tiny pink blob sitting on her lap, taking pieces of food from her hand.

"Oh. Is he a Water-type?"

"Yeah, and he's _really_ big, so I can't just let him out anywhere."

"What is he?" Carla asked, curious.

"He's a Wailmer."

Carla nearly choked on her mouthful of pecha. How had Tally managed to get one of _those_? Her other two Pokémon were tiny. "How did - OW!"

Carla's hands flew to the back of her head. Something was tugging on her hair. She looked upwards at the culprit, who was hovering above her with a strand of long dark-blonde hair in her mouth, eyes glinting.

"Rakel, let go of my hair. _Now_."

The Misdreavus glanced down at her trainer, then at Zoe and Tess, who were glaring at her. Then she opened her mouth, releasing the strand.

"Do that again to _anyone_," Carla said warningly, "and I won't let you out of your ball for a _week_. Got that?"

Rakel raised her thin eyebrows.

"What about mealtimes?" Tally asked.

Carla nearly rolled her eyes. "Except for mealtimes and training. That means Zoe and Tess get to have fun and you won't, Rakel."

Theo Saverre had told both his daughters that it was important for a trainer to bond with his or her pokémon - or at least find some common ground. But it was also important to know when to be firm and Carla knew that if she didn't put her foot down with Rakel now, she would have problems.

Rakel hovered, seemingly deep in thought. Then she nodded once. Carla hoped the Misdreavus wouldn't decide to test her on the threat she'd just made. Going through with it would not be pleasant for either of them.

Tally was studying her closely. "You know, your hair _is_ really long."

"I can't exactly afford to get a haircut at the moment." Carla couldn't really afford to get _anything_ now; a haircut was the least of her worries, even if her hair did look like a Spearow had tried to make a nest in it.

"Oh." Tally fell silent for a moment. "There's bound to be somewhere in Petalburg you could get it cut. We could have a look when we get there."

We?

Carla shrugged. Both girls were going in the same direction. It would make sense if they travelled together, even if it wouldn't be for long.

"Yeah, we could have a look."

Treble nudged her trainer's hand and let out an impatient little squeak. While Tally apologised and quickly picked up some more food for her, Carla found her mind returning to her monetary problems. She needed to get money for her team _and_ her sister, and the best way to do that was to challenge other trainers. Petalburg wasn't famed for strong trainers; Carla wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

_There __**is**__ a strong trainer there._

And Carla was bound to get a lot of money if she defeated him.

"When we _do_ get to Petalburg," she said slowly, "could we train together for a bit? I'm going to challenge the Gym Leader, and I need to be prepared for him."

"Of course! That sounds...wait." Tally's eyes widened in realisation. "That means you're going to challenge the Champion's dad."

"Yes."

Tally grinned enthusiastically. "You bet I'll help you out."

It was late morning by the time they reached Petalburg City. Carla was able to pick out the Gym easily: it had a gold roof instead of the red slate that crowned the other buildings. To Tally's delight, there were large patches of water right at the edge of the city.

"We need to book a room," Carla said. "We don't know how many trainers are staying here." She was willing to bet it would probably be quite a lot.

"Could you get a room for us while I feed Boing?"

"Sure."

Tally rushed towards the nearest body of water while Carla headed towards the Centre, which wasn't far from the city's entrance. As she approached, the doors slid open in greeting, revealing a lobby with about five trainers lounging around on the sofas.

"Hello!" the nurse said as Carla stepped up to the desk. "What can I do for you today?" She took one look at Carla's long, tangled hair and pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. Carla didn't have the energy to scowl at her.

"I'd like to get my team healed, and can I book a room for two?"

"Absolutely. Will your friend want their team looked at as well?"

"Probably." Carla and Tally weren't friends, but there was no point in correcting the nurse.

"Give me a moment, and I'll see what rooms are available." The nurse peered at the computer screen, frowning slightly. "We've always got at least one room to spare. Room 7 is free - you OK with that?"

Carla nodded.

"Good." The nurse slid two keys over the counter. Carla was about to hand over all three members of her team, but then realised she only needed to give two of them to the nurse as Rakel was automatically healed every time she was withdrawn.

_Thank you, Dad._

"They'll be ready in about half an hour or so," said the nurse. "If you want, you can take a book out of our library; you can read them in the lobby or in your room. Just don't take them with you when you check out."

* * *

Carla emerged from the bathroom with a towel draped around her shoulders and flopped onto the bed.

"I won't be long." Tally hurried into the bathroom, eager to use the shower herself.

The room they had been allocated was large enough for both girls, but they couldn't have all their pokémon out at the same time. Carla picked up Rakel's Heal Ball and called her out; the Misdreavus appeared in mid-air, hovering above the bed.

"Come and look at this book with me, Rakel." Carla knew perfectly well that Rakel couldn't read, but this was a good opportunity to spend some time together.

She had taken the nurse up on her suggestion and taken some books from the library up to Room 7. The trouble was that Carla had always read up on coordinating techniques and not actual battles. She had no idea where to begin when it came to challenging a Gym Leader. The only things she knew about Norman was that he was the father of the current Champion of Hoenn and that he specialised in Normal-types.

"I think you're going to have to miss out on this Gym challenge, Rakel," Carla said quietly to the little Misdreavus. "But don't worry – you'll get to fight during the next one."

Rakel's eyes narrowed.

"It's just because this one trains Normal-types," Carla explained. "It won't be much of a battle at all."

Her eye fell on the opening line of the book.

_Any pokémon can be powerful if it has the right trainer._

Well, she would be the right trainer for her team. She was going to make sure of that for their sake as well as her family's.

She went back to the list of chapters, hoping there might be something on Gym battles. Fortunately, there was.

_A Gym's environment is designed to cater to the Leader's chosen specialty. It also creates the illusion that the Leader has an advantage in battle. The trainer is entering the Leader's territory; although the trainer is issuing the challenge, he or she must battle according to the Leader's rules._

"What will a Gym with a Normal-type Leader look like?" Carla asked Rakel.

The answer came to her a second later. It would be completely _normal_.

But she couldn't afford to underestimate Norman. Like any Gym Leader, he was going to be a formidable opponent.

She needed to do some very careful planning.

"Where do we start?" Tally asked uncertainly. "I've never trained with anyone else before."

Carla looked around. The two girls had walked to the edge of the city, to one of the patches of water. "We've each got three pokémon. Why don't we pair them up?"

"But your Pokémon won't be able to train properly with Boing. He'll be on the water and they'll be on land."

"Rakel can work with him," Carla said. "She can float around above the water."

The girls called out their teams. Carla's mouth nearly fell open at the sight of Boing. He was massive; the top half of his teeth were visible above the surface of the water.

"Rakel, you're going to work on your evasion with Boing. Zoe, practice your Powder Snow attack with Glossie and Tess…" Carla paused, trying to think of something the Vullaby could work on. "You're going to work on evasion as well."

"Actually, Treble doesn't know any physical attacks," Tally said sheepishly.

"Oh. Then in that case, Tess, run back and forth between those two trees over there until you get tired."

"You do the same, Treble," Tally added.

It turned out that Glossie was able to bounce quite a bit higher than just a few inches. Eventually, Zoe learned to aim her attack where she thought the Spoink would land. Treble's tiny pink legs were a blur as she tried to run as fast as Tess. Meanwhile, Rakel was swerving around in mid-air as she narrowly avoided Boing's Water Gun attacks.

"How did you capture Boing?" Carla asked casually.

The other girl's face clouded over a little. "I didn't. Someone traded him to me."

"For a traded pokémon, he's pretty obedient."

"Really?" Tally's face brightened again. "Thank you!"

It was impressive, particularly since Carla was certain Tally didn't have any badges.

Then she noticed Zoe had stopped using Powder Snow. "Zoe, are you OK?"

Zoe's entire body started quivering wildly.

Carla hurried towards her. "Zoe? What is it?" she cried.

Zoe's eyes were closed, and her face contorted as if she was trying to hold back a sneeze. Carla reached out a hand towards her.

"No, wait, don't..." Tally said, but then a sharp gust of wind blew out of Zoe's mouth. Carla jumped aside quickly, just in time for the wind to graze the front of her jeans. Tiny ice crystals sparkled for a moment before disappearing into the warm air.

Zoe blinked in astonishment.

"That," Tally said slowly, "was _not_ Powder Snow."

"No. I think that was an Icy Wind." Carla looked down at the Snorunt. "That's great, Zoe."

Norman wasn't going to know what hit him.

* * *

"_Do you want me to come with you?"_

As she stared at the doors before her, Carla was beginning to wish she'd said yes to Tally. Walking through those doors was as daunting as walking into a dark cavern.

She couldn't turn back now. Hoping nobody had noticed her moment of hesitation, she walked right up to the doors and watched as they slid open to reveal a simple room with wooden walls and a plain, shiny floor. A young man sat on a chair close to the door; he stood up as Carla walked inside.

"Good morning!" he said. "Are you here for a battle?"

"Yes," Carla replied, trying not to touch her blue pendant. If the author of the book was correct – and she had no reason to assume he wasn't – Gym Leaders usually saved their strongest pokémon for last. Her plan was to have Tess battle first, followed by Zoe.

"How many badges do you have at the moment?"

"None." _Yet, _she mentally added.

The attendant raised his eyebrows; Carla had the strangest feeling that he'd heard the silent word as clearly as if she'd spoken it out loud. "All right. Do you see those two doors ahead of you? The preliminary challenge is to choose a door and battle the trainer behind it. If you go through the left door, you'll have to go up against a trainer whose specialty is speed; if you choose right, the trainer will specialise in accuracy. Since you don't have any badges, you'll only have to battle one trainer. If you win the preliminary battle, you'll get to go ahead and face Norman. Good luck!"

"Thank you." Carla stepped away from him and gazed at the two doors. Out of the trainers behind them, who was more likely to have an advantage over _her_? Who was she more likely to do well against in a battle?

Was her team better prepared to deal with accuracy or speed?

Then she glanced downwards at the floor. It was smooth and shiny; Tess might have problems moving on it, but Zoe wouldn't.

If that floor got wet, it would be very easy to slip on it.

Her decision made, Carla took a deep breath, walked quickly towards the door on the left and grasped the handle, pushing the door aside to reveal another room with plain wooden walls.

Standing in the middle of the room was a girl in her late teens. "Hey. Hope you're ready for our match."

"Absolutely."

The girl grinned. "That's what I like to see. Come on out, Lissy!"

Lissy was a Zigzagoon. She crouched low to the ground in an aggressive posture, her tail swishing from side to side. Her coat was glossy and her eyes bright; her trainer obviously took good care of her.

"Zoe, you're up!"

The aide raised her eyebrows as Zoe materialised on the floor. "A Snorunt? Haven't battled one of those before. This'll be interesting. All right, challenger, you get the first move."

"Use Double Team!" Carla ordered. Within moments, the Zigzagoon was surrounded by identical copies of Zoe, all of them watching her intently.

Then she realised what had just happened. The aide's specialty was speed; why had she allowed _Carla_ to make the first move? What was she up to?

The answer to that became clear. "Quick Attack, Lissy."

Lissy rushed right through one of the copies, then the next one and the next. Carla had to think quickly. "Weather Ball!"

The ball of fire hit Lissy right in the side, sending her tumbling across the floor. She quickly regained her balance - and the copies disappeared, leaving the real Zoe standing alone.

"That was a mistake," the aide smirked. "Use Headbutt!"

Lissy moved forward so quickly, Carla barely had time to yell, "Dodge and use Bite!" Zoe only just moved aside in time; before Lissy could react, Zoe's teeth had closed down right down on her tail. Lissy yowled in pain and wriggled away, leaving tufts of fur in Zoe's mouth.

"Icy Wind!"

Lissy was standing too close to dodge; the attack hit her full on. She flew backwards and landed heavily at her trainer's feet, whimpering. She struggled to get to her feet, but it was obvious she couldn't continue for much longer.

"Weather Ball again..."

"No, I think that's enough," the aide said sharply. "The battle's over. I know when I'm outmatched." She stood aside, gesturing to the door behind her. "Go on through; he's waiting."

Surprised and a little disappointed, Carla walked past her and towards the door. Nerves bubbled up in her stomach, but before they could rise any further she opened the door and stepped into the room beyond.

The first thing she saw was a large window that revealed the sky outside. Her eyes then fell on the kneeling figure in front of it. He wore a red and grey jacket, and black trousers; his feet were bare. He was completely still and utterly peaceful.

Carla stood still and waited.

Then the figure stood up and turned around, and almost immediately Carla felt her nerves rise up again. Norman's face was stern, and his dark eyes sharp. Threads of grey were beginning to weave themselves into his hair.

"My name is Norman, leader of the Petalburg Gym," he said.

"I'm Carla Saverre," Carla told him, glad she couldn't hear a tremor in her voice.

"I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've had a challenger who is on the first step of their journey. Are you aware of the regulations following a Gym Leader's defeat?"

"No," Carla replied.

"It's our duty to inform other Gym Leaders after we are defeated; once a trainer has seven badges, the champion is informed."

"Both the challenger and the Gym Leader will use two pokémon." Carla hadn't even noticed the judge standing in a corner of the room. "Only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokémon; the one who knocks out both their opponent's pokémon will be the winner."

Carla took out Tess' capsule, noting the way the floor gleamed in the light.

She released her pokémon at the same time Norman released his. It was another Zigzagoon. Carla tried to hide her surprise; she'd been expecting a Slakoth. But she knew she couldn't afford to relax. This Zigzagoon wouldn't be so easy.

"Use Fury Attack!"

"Dodge and use Headbutt," Norman ordered.

The Zigzagoon moved even faster than Lissy had, but Carla was still able to cry: "Dodge it!" Tess ran aside, narrowly escaping Zigzagoon's attack.

"Use Gust!"

Tess spun around and flapped her wings, sending the Zigzagoon flying. He scrabbled to his feet, fur ruffled in different places, growling angrily at the Vullaby.

"Don't lower your guard, Tess. Use Fury Attack again!"

Tess darted forwards and hammered her beak five times on the Zigzagoon's head. He yelped piteously and shook her off before launching another Headbutt again. Tess fell backwards and sat down with a bump.

And then she burst into tears.

Carla's jaw dropped as she watched her pokémon bawling her eyes out. Tess' body was literally trembling with sobs. Zigzagoon cocked his head on one side as he watched her, seemingly unsure what to do.

Wait. That wasn't tears, that was _Fake Tears_.

Norman blanched; he'd realised what was going on as well. But it was too late.

"Fury Attack!" Carla shouted.

Tess snapped out of the performance and launched herself at the Zigzagoon, raining another series of sharp, furious pecks on his head. He staggered to the side before keeling over and lying still. Carla watched him, not taking the chance that it might be a ploy like the Fake Tears.

It was a good ploy. Carla would have to remember that one for later use.

"Zigzagoon is unable to battle," the judge announced. "This round goes to the challenger."

Norman withdrew his pokémon with a stoic expression. "You did well. Rest easy," he said before taking out a second capsule.

Carla braced herself. This was going to be the real battle.

Norman threw the ball and a Linoone materialised on the floor.

"Quick Attack!"

Carla didn't even have time to call out an attack. All she saw was a brown-and-tan blur and then Tess was flying backwards. She skidded across the floor and scrabbled to her feet, claws leaving tiny marks on the polished floor.

"Use Sand Attack, Linoone," Norman ordered.

"Blow it away with Gust!"

The frantic blast of wind scattered the sand everywhere across the floor. Norman raised his eyebrows. "Good thinking. But that won't help you. Quick Attack again!"

Linoone charged again. Carla barely had time to yell out "Dodge!" before Tess was sent cannoning backwards across the floor again.

"Tess!" Carla cried out. The Vullaby lay still, her eyes closed.

"Vullaby is unable to battle," said the judge. "This round goes to the Gym Leader."

Carla returned the crumpled heap of feathers. "You did really well, Tess," she said, meaning every word. She exhaled slowly and pulled out Zoe's capsule. Time to send out her own powerhouse.

"Zoe, you're up!"

Zoe landed on the floor, directly opposite to Linoone.

"Use Icy Wind!" Carla said.

"Dodge and use Headbutt!" ordered Norman. Linoone moved aside, causing the ice attack to land harmlessly on the floor, and ran towards Zoe with his head lowered.

"Double Team!"

Zoe blurred into eleven identical copies of herself. Within moments, Linoone was surrounded.

"Don't be fooled, Linoone. Use Sand Attack on all of them."

"Weather Ball!" Carla shouted.

Zoe shot a fireball at Linoone. He tried to leap aside and yowled as the attack hit him in the flank. Carla bit her lip; she knew that training with Glossie would pay off in some way.

"Icy Wind again!" Carla cried. If it didn't hit Linoone, it would land on the floor and leave another wet patch.

"Quick Attack!"

Just when Linoone was close to colliding with Zoe, Carla shouted: "Dodge and use Bite!" Zoe took a pace back and clamped her mouth shut on Linoone's body. Linoone wriggled around, trying desperately to free himself, but Zoe held on. Eventually he squirmed free and kicked another Sand Attack right in her face. Zoe staggered backwards, her eyes screwed shut.

"Back away and use Headbutt," Norman commanded. While Zoe was rubbing at her eyes, trying to clear away the sand, Linoone ran back a few paces, lowered his head and prepared to charge.

"Zoe, look out!" Carla shouted. Linoone charged towards Zoe – and ran right into one of the slippery patches. He sprawled onto his side with a cry of pain.

"Use Bite again!"

Zoe's eyes snapped open. She ran towards Linoone, who was struggling to get to his feet, and bit him again, keeping him pinned down to the floor.

Eventually, the struggles stopped. Carla held her breath, not daring to speak.

Zoe let go and backed away from the unconscious form.

"Linoone is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger!"

Carla let out a sob of relief. "We did it, Zoe!"

Zoe grinned happily, waving her hands. Carla hurried over to her and knelt down, putting one hand on the top of Zoe's cone. "I'm so proud of you both."

"Congratulations." Norman had returned Linoone and was now standing in front of them, his stoic demeanour relaxed into a warm, friendly smile. "This Balance Badge is now yours."

"Thank you." Carla slipped the badge into her pocket, along with the notes that accompanied it.

"Do you know why your previous opponent surrendered?"

How had he known that? Then the answer came to Carla with sharp clarity: he'd _instructed_ her to do so.

"Perseverance is an admirable trait, but not when it comes at the expense of your pokémon's health," Norman said solemnly. "It's important to know when to keep going and when to give up – and when you're fighting a losing battle."

Carla nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

It was only after she left the Gym that she permitted herself to smile.

She'd won. She'd got some of the money her team and her sister needed. She had _won_.

_Thank you, Latias._

**Thanks for reading the story so far!**

**Edit: The original chapter had Tally cutting Carla's hair in their room at the Centre, but I realised that would make the cleaners very unhappy.**

**This chapter's title is from 'Tough' by Kellie Pickler.**


	5. 4: Guiding Star's In A Cloudy Sky

Chapter Four: Guiding Star's In A Cloudy Sky

"Did you get it?" Tally asked eagerly.

Carla took her hand out of her pocket and uncurled her fist, revealing the Balance Badge nestling in her palm.

"I knew you would!"

"Thank you. And thanks for all the training. It really paid off." Carla sat down, took her notebook out of her backpack and carefully wrote down the amount of money she'd posted to her sister. This time, she had carefully divided her winnings before buying supplies for both herself and her team and setting some aside before sending the package. Hopefully Sandra would get it soon.

"Is that your diary?"

Carla snapped the notebook shut. "No. It's just a record I'm keeping, that's all."

"Oh. So, what are you going to do now? Are you going for Roxanne's badge now?"

"I don't think so." Carla wasn't sure what she was going to do next. But now that she was thinking about it, challenging the Gym Leaders for the prize money wasn't a bad idea.

"In that case, do you want to come with me to Slateport? I've always wanted to see the market there. I won't be able to afford anything, but it'll be nice to look!"

Carla thought for a moment. She wasn't sure where else to go, and there were bound to be trainers in Slateport - rich ones. "All right. Let's do that."

"Great!" Tally pulled a map out of her bag and unfolded it. "If we go back the way we came, that's through the wood and back to Oldale, we can go across the river on Boing's back."

After a quick glance on the clock resting on the small table between the two beds, Carla said: "Tess and Zoe are still being healed. If we leave after lunch, we'll be able to get to Oldale in about three days. But we'll have to move."

Tally shrugged. "That sounds OK."

"There's something I have to do before we leave."

* * *

Carla pushed the door open, expecting a bell to tinkle overhead. When it didn't, she quietly closed the door behind her. "Hello?"

In front of her was a small wooden desk with a small selection of haircare products arranged at one end. A man in a dark blue shirt sat behind the desk; he looked up and smiled at Carla. "Hello! How can we…whoa. No offence, but I think I can tell why you're here."

"The notice says you do a discount for trainers?" Carla gestured towards the door she'd just walked through.

"We do. There aren't any appointments for today, so just go on through. When you're done, show me your ID and I'll give you a discount."

"Thanks."

When Carla walked through to the main area, she was immediately greeted by a young woman with black hair cropped close to her head. "Hey there!" The woman's wide smile made her green eyes sparkle. "I'm Jenna; what can I do for you today?"

Carla placed her hand halfway between her chin and her right shoulder. "Can you cut my hair up to here?"

"Sure I can! Do you want me to put your bag in our cloakroom while you sit down?"

"That'd be great."

Carla's hair ended up filling the entire washbasin. She felt herself relaxing as Jenna ran warm water over her head.

"When do you leave on your journey?" Jenna asked conversationally.

"I already have."

Jenna started rubbing shampoo into Carla's hair. It was deeply soothing, and Carla sank further back into the seat. "How long have you been travelling?"

Carla thought for a moment. "About a week. I think." It felt a lot longer than that.

Had it felt longer to her family? The thought was like a kick in the guts.

Had Glennis received another visit?

"Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You just looked a bit worried for a moment there. How many pokémon do you have so far?"

Another wave of water ran down Carla's hair and she relaxed again. "Three. Snorunt, Vullaby and Misdreavus."

"Misdreavus? Aren't they the ones who…"

"…like to pull hair. Yeah." Carla smiled.

"Well, he won't be trying anything with your hair when I'm done with it!" Jenna laughed. "My parents kept asking me if I wanted to go on a journey when I was younger, but I said no. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had gone, but I'm glad I didn't. Always wanted to work with hair, _always_." She turned off the water and wrapped Carla's hair in a towel before leading her to an empty chair that was positioned in front of a large, rectangular mirror.

"You wanted it up to here, didn't you?" Jenna asked, pinching Carla's hair at the exact spot the girl had motioned to earlier.

"Yes. Thank you."

Carla kept completely still, watching as each snip of the scissors caused a lock of hair to fall to the floor. When she had finished, Jenna blew what was left dry with a hairdryer and held up a mirror to the back of Carla's head, allowing her to see it from every angle.

"What do you think?" she asked, beaming.

"I like it!" Carla said. Her face looked different somehow.

"And your head feels a lot lighter now, doesn't it?"

"It…" Carla raised a hand and touched the ends of her hair. "Actually, it does. Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Don't forget to show your ID to Tom at the desk."

Carla collected her knapsack from the cloakroom and walked back through to the desk. Tom gave her ID a quick, careful glance, nodded once and said: "That'll be seventeen dollars. I hope your journey goes well."

She handed over the money, strangely reassured by the friendly smile before her. "Thanks. I hope so too."

* * *

When Carla was on her own, she could walk as fast as she wanted, but things were different with somebody beside her. And Tally just wouldn't stop _talking_.

At first, Carla found the constant questions and chatter annoying. But she couldn't ignore Tally, and before long the sound of the other girl's voice became as natural as leaves rustling in the trees above.

"I'd been hinting I wanted to go on a journey for a couple of months, but I couldn't actually _ask_ my parents if I could leave, you know?"

"Why couldn't you ask them?" Carla knew she had no right to ask this question considering the circumstances of her departure, but she was still curious.

"My parents run a berry farm. That takes a _lot_ of work: planting berries, watering, pruning, making sure wild pokémon don't raid the grounds...they can't do everything themselves. I've lived on the farm all my life, but I wanted to see more of Hoenn. Know what I mean?"

Carla nodded.

"So a few weeks ago, my parents called me in after I'd finished watering the saplings. I went through to the kitchen and I didn't even notice Treble standing on the table! Mum had to point at her - and then I realised they'd got her for _me_."

Carla pictured the scene in her mind: the Cleffa in the middle of the table, Tally walking right past her and then doubling back, her mother pointing at the tiny pink creature with a wide and hopeful grin on her face, and Tally's squeal of joy as she finally...

"Excuse me!"

Someone was hurrying towards them. Carla's breath froze in her lungs; she'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realised where they were.

He stopped a little way away from them and held out his hands. They were overflowing with pecha berries. "These are for you."

"Oh wow, thanks!" Tally beamed as she took three from him.

Carla stood frozen, unable to look away from the figure in front of her. "I...Thank you." Mechanically, she took the berries and slipped them into her bag.

"That's a really nice house," Tally said, gesturing towards the small white building to the left.

"Thank you. It's been in my family for years. I've got berries growing in the garden, and I like to give them to any trainers who pass by. You never know when you might need one."

"Really? My parents own a berry farm, except they grow all kinds of berries, not just medicinal ones."

The man smiled in approval. Silver threads were weaving their way through his thick, dark hair.

"Thank you so, so much!" Tally said.

"You're welcome."

It was only when he'd reached the house and was opening the door that Carla opened her mouth to call after him. "Wait..." But the door closed, cutting her off.

* * *

"What time do you think we need to leave?" asked Tally.

"If we get some breakfast at about six-thirty and leave right after that, we might get to Slateport at about noon." Carla was watching Tess and Zoe chase each other in circles, while Rakel floated aimlessly near the ceiling.

"Six-thirty?" Tally frowned. "Yeah, that sounds OK."

She unzipped a tiny compartment of her bag and pulled out a small knife. Carla recognised it as one that was specifically designed to cut berries; it didn't surprise her in the least that Tally would have one if her parents owned a berry farm. "You got three pechas too, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Carla watched as Tally took a flask and a tiny bottle of clear liquid from her bag. "What are you doing with those?"

Tally grinned. "I'm making my own medicine. Mum taught me; do you want to see?"

Intrigued, Carla followed her into the bathroom. Tally stood in front of the sink and carefully cut up two of the berries, dropping the slices into the flask. "You have to make sure the berries are cut up into small pieces or they won't dissolve properly," she explained as she filled the flask with water from the tap.

"What does that do?" Carla asked, pointing at the bottle of liquid.

"That acts as a preserver and emulsifier. Just add a few drops and after a while, the berry flesh will completely dissolve and we'll have a makeshift antidote! You can add other things like roots and powders as well, but my pokémon don't like it when I do that."

They didn't have to like it, Carla thought. The medicine was for their own good.

"That's amazing," she said. "How many other trainers know how to do that?"

Tally shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't met anyone else who does."

* * *

"You know trainers used to put oats into bags, add water and carry them around on their backs until their body heat cooked the oats?" Carla said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Hopefully they remembered to bring a spoon."

Tally burst out laughing. "What else do you know?"

Carla thought for a moment. "Alola and Galar were the first regions to allow female trainers."

"_What?_"

"In other regions, women were only allowed to own pokémon; they couldn't train them or battle with them." Carla huffed, shaking her head. "I sounded like my mother just then."

It was mid-morning, and the day was already blazing hot. Carla could see the cycling road in the distance; it wouldn't be long before they reached the river. They'd be in Slateport before lunch at this rate.

The cycling road looked ugly against the blue sky, but at least it provided shelter from both the sun and the rain.

"It sounds like your mum knows a lot of awesome stuff!" Tally said.

Carla didn't say anything to that. She thought she could hear running water ahead of them. "I think we're close to the river."

"Have you ever ridden a Water-type before?"

"Yes." Kelvin, Theo's Crawdaunt, used to give Carla and Glennis rides on his back when they were small. The trick was to find something to hold on to and stay as still as possible so they wouldn't slide off and into the water.

"Look, there it is." The girls hurried up to the water's edge; on the other side, a fisherman was concentrating heavily on his line. It didn't look as if the trip was going to take long, but Carla privately thought Boing's bulk was going to be very helpful when it came to resisting the current.

Tally took out Boing's capsule, tossed in the air once, then threw it towards the water. The Wailmer materialised, his grin barely visible above the surface.

"Boing, can you take us across the river?"

The Wailmer nodded twice, turned around and lowered himself deeper into the water.

"You go first," Tally said, motioning towards him.

Tentatively, Carla stepped onto the Wailmer's back. Boing's skin was rubbery and smooth; Carla wobbled precariously before settling herself into a kneeling position, with her palms against his back for support.

"Go on," she said. Boing set off, steadily moving towards the other side. Carla took care to keep as still as she could, her eyes fixed on the approaching shore. Boing stopped just before he reached the other side; Carla shakily got to her feet, hesitated, then hopped ashore. "Thanks Boing."

It was a relief to watch him head back towards Tally. Riding a Water-type was a lot less fun than she remembered.

"Hey." It was the fisherman. "While you're waiting for your friend, do you want to have a battle with me?"

"Sure."

* * *

Like Petalburg, the Slateport had its Centre placed close to the outskirts of the city. Carla couldn't resist a sideways glance at the Contest Hall and the queue outside it. If she listened closely, she could almost hear the sea over the constant voices all around them.

"I hope there's at least one spare room." Tally sounded worried. "There are a _lot_ of people here."

"There's bound to be spare rooms. This is a market town with a Contest Hall," Carla reminded her. "But we should get booked in quickly."

Judging from all the people heading in one direction, they'd reached Slateport during the market rush. Carla wasn't sure how long her companion wanted to stay in the city, but she was prepared to stay for a few days if necessary. Tally could always move on without her.

Despite the mass of people outside, there were surprisingly few people in the Centre. Carla and Tally walked up to the desk, and Tally rapped smartly on the surface to get the nurse's attention.

"Hi! Could we get..."

"Hold on one moment," the nurse said, holding up a finger. She looked at the computer screen for a second and raised her voice, calling out: "OK, trainer with the Noctowl, Shinx and Corphish - your team's ready for you!" She turned her attention back to Carla and Tally, a bright smile on her face. "What can I do for you ladies?"

"Could we get a room, please?" asked Tally. She quickly moved aside to allow a boy in a red jacket to take three pokéballs from the nurse.

"And I'd like to get my Snorunt healed," Carla added, placing Zoe's capsule on the desk. The battle with the fisherman hadn't been particularly long or hard, but a quick check-up wouldn't do Zoe any harm.

"Sure, that's not a problem. We've got three single rooms and two doubles - which do you fancy?"

Tally and Carla looked at each other. Carla sensed the other girl was hoping they'd be sharing again, so she said: "We'll take a double, please."

The nurse slid two keys across the desk. "Room 207 is yours. Enjoy your stay!"

"Do you want to go to the markets right after lunch?" Carla asked Tally as they made their way up the stairs.

"We could get lunch at the market. There's bound to be lots of great street food there!"

* * *

Somehow, Tally managed to persuade Carla to buy herself a combination of cheese, eggs, potatoes and cream from one of the food stalls at the market. "I've never had this before," she said as she handed money over in exchange for her own portion, "but it looks good!"

"It is good," the vendor replied proudly. "You won't find anything better to eat here!"

As she took her first mouthful, Carla had to admit he was right. It was hot, delicious and surprisingly filling. She ate the rest slowly, savouring it as much as she could and trying to banish the disappointment when the paper plate was empty.

"Hey, Carla. Look at this!" Tally held up a pink incense burner. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Can I interest either of you in some rose incense sticks?" asked the lady behind the stall. "It's got genuine Roselia essence; it'll attract Grass-types from miles around."

"How much?" Tally asked. Her eyes widened when the vendor gave the price. "Think I'll pass on that, thanks!"

As they walked away from the stall, she said: "A lot of items I've seen here are really expensive. How can trainers afford these?"

Carla honestly wasn't sure they could. The market probably wasn't for trainers, but for Slateport residents and for people who could actually afford to waste money on an incense burner.

Then Tally stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening with excitement. "Wait - look at that one!" She hurried over to a stall that was virtually surrounded by a crowd of trainers; Carla barely had time to notice most of the trainers were girls before Tally was saying: "Are those _accessories_?"

Unlike their Hoennian counterparts, Sinnovan coordinators used accessories in their performances. Carla was unable to see the point of it at first but realised why they were so effective while watching a televised performance: the appeals round didn't just show off the pokémon's moves, but their poise and balance as well. Performing while making sure your decorations remained in place took dedication and skill.

Carla found herself following Tally towards a tiny space at the stall. "Wouldn't this look good on your Snorunt?"

She was holding a long, thin top hat with a red band around it.

Carla barely suppressed a giggle at the thought of Zoe wearing a hat half as big as she was. "It'd go right over her eyes."

Now Tally was showing her a pink plastic bow. "Wouldn't this look cute on Glossie? Or on your Tess?"

"It might." Carla imagined Tess with the tiny bow clipped to her crest feathers. It would be pretty on her, but there was no point in buying it; the bow would get in the way of battling and they'd lose points for using it in a contest. Besides, she couldn't afford to waste money on something as unimportant as an accessory. "It might look nice on Treble."

"Hey, look, um..." The vendor waved a hand, trying to get their attention. "Are you going to buy that?"

Tally studied the bow for a few seconds. "Yes, I think I will!"

* * *

"It _is_ cute on her." Carla leaned against the wall, watching as Tally clipped the bow on the small curl on top of Treble's head. The bow was the exact colour as the spots on the Cleffa's cheek.

Treble blinked twice. She looked as if she didn't care whether she wore the accessory or not.

Carla glanced towards the window. Outside, she could see a heavy grey sky; the clouds looked as though they were about to burst with rain. She walked back and forth in front of the window, her arms folded.

"Are you OK?" Tally asked.

"I don't know. I feel really restless."

They'd spent virtually all day on their feet, and now Carla wanted nothing more than to go outside again. Normally, she couldn't wait to get some rest after a long day of walking around. Was this agitation normal for some trainers?

Darkness was coming early because of the clouds. If she was going to go outside, it had to be now. She quickly pulled her hoodie on over her T-shirt. "I think I'll take Rakel with me."

"Shall I come too?"

Carla hesitated for a moment. Then she said: "No, thanks. I won't be long."

The Centre lobby was quiet. The nurse glanced up from the book she was reading and smiled once at Carla before turning back to the pages. The only other person there was a girl watching the silent television.

Carla stepped outside into the cool air. She could hear the sea in the distance now that the streets were quiet. She started walking in the direction she thought the sound was coming from.

Rakel floated between pools of lamplight and shadows cast by the buildings. Her own shadow was a patch of grey mist on the ground, and although she seemed to be enjoying the dusk she never went too far away from her trainer.

Eventually, they wandered away from the large main streets into a set of narrow avenues. Carla came to a halt, unease spiking through her. She hadn't meant to go this way.

Maybe it was time to turn back.

"Please...please don't hurt us..."

Carla froze, eyes wide. The terrified whimper had come from the street just ahead of them.

"Keep quiet and you won't _get_ hurt. Understand?"

Carla was breathing far too loudly. She swallowed hard and sidled along the nearest wall towards where she'd heard the voices. The concrete was cold and hard against her back. She peered around the corner and saw two trainers cornered against a wall by three bulky figures.

A flash of red caught her eye; someone else had encountered the scene and was watching in horror. He didn't seem to have noticed Carla and Rakel.

"Give us all your money and pokémon. Now," one of the men growled. The trainers took off their bags and began to unzip them.

What was Carla going to do? She hadn't expected this. Those girls were in danger. She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't do nothing.

She looked up at Rakel. "Go up to those guys and scream at them," she whispered.

Rakel's eyes widened. She stared at her trainer as if she'd never seen her before.

"It'll _really_ scare them."

A slow, malicious smile spread across Rakel's face. Then she disappeared.

Carla held her breath as she watched one of the trainers reach inside her bag. Then Rakel was there, her scream shattering the night air. The next moment, a large bird was beating its wings at two of the men while Rakel floated around the third.

The girls were gone, running away as if Giratina was after them.

Carla returned Rakel as quickly as she could and then she was running as well. She didn't even know if she were going back the way she'd come; all she knew was she had to get as far away as she could, away from the men, away from _them_.

Eventually her lungs failed her. She staggered to a halt, heart pounding at her ribs. Gasping for breath, she collapsed onto a nearby bench and doubled over, staring at the ground. She heard someone running past her, but when she raised her head again, the streets were completely silent.

**Thanks for reading so far! Please leave a review.**

**Fun fact: If Carla went to Hogwarts, her wand wood would be either ebony or pine.**

**This chapter's title is from 'Keep Hauling' by The Fisherman's Friends.**


	6. 5: Like A Runaway Train

Chapter Five: Like A Runaway Train

"Ever been to Dewford?"

Tally looked up from her map. "No. Why?"

"I'd like to see it," Carla said matter-of-factly. "It's smaller than Slateport; there won't be such a big crowd there. We could do some training on the beach."

"Where is Dewford?" Tally peered closely at the map. "It's an island! Do we have to get a boat there, or do we surf on Boing?"

"The boat," Carla replied. Tess sat on the bed beside her, preening herself busily. Zoe sat on Carla's other side, while Rakel floated above their heads. The Misdreavus' necklace was glowing slightly, and she was staying very close to her trainer.

Carla didn't blame her. She was still unsettled after the previous night; unease and anxiety must be the perfect snack for a Misdreavus.

"Should we check out of the Centre?" Tally asked.

Carla thought for a moment. "Yes. We can't just spend a few hours in Dewford. It needs to be at least one day."

The same nurse who had checked them in was on duty at the desk; she smiled as Carla and Tally gave her their keys and said: "Stay safe!"

"We will," Carla replied.

The streets were quiet. Pale golden light was still creeping through the shadows. Carla kept sneaking glances over her shoulder as they walked, suspicious of everyone she saw.

When they reached the harbour, Carla was glad she'd had a haircut: the wind was blowing it all over the place. Wingull cries filled the air; she could see them swooping about among the fishing vessels.

"Look, it's just over there." She pointed towards a sign saying _Passenger Trips_. "We can always come back to Slateport in a day or two."

But there was never supposed to be a 'we' in the first place.

Carla mentally shrugged as they walked towards the dock. Tally didn't have to come with her. She could have stayed in Slateport and enjoyed herself at the markets. Eventually, the other girl would get bored and want to move in a different direction from Carla.

"Where do we go?" Tally asked, looking around. "Where's the boat that goes to Dewford?"

A white speedboat was nestled against the dock, with a solitary figure seated in the prow. Carla walked over towards it. "Hi," she called.

The figure turned and beamed at her. His face was weathered by the sun and wind, but his eyes were as bright as sunshine on water. "Good morning, lass. Benjamin's the name; what can I do for you? Is it Dewford or Rustboro?"

"Dewford, please. How much is it for two people?"

"Four dollars a trip. Eight if you're looking to come back."

That sounded reasonable. "I don't think we're going to return today." There was bound to be boats that would take them back to Slateport and if there weren't...they'd deal with that.

"We're going to have to wait a while," Benjamin warned. "Someone else might be wanting a trip." He held out a hand to help the girls into the boat.

"That's OK!" Tally said. She wobbled a little as she stepped into the vessel, but Benjamin quickly steadied her in time. "Do a lot of trainers go to Dewford?"

"People only go to that place for three things: Brawly, a holiday or to see that cave," Benjamin chuckled. "Which one are you?"

"What cave?" Tally asked, her forehead wrinkled.

"Granite Cave," explained Carla.

"It's become a bit of an attraction nowadays, what with that mural and the two Champions visiting there. But only for trainers, though. That place is not for tourists." Benjamin looked towards the buildings, but there didn't seem to be anyone else coming towards the harbour.

Carla vaguely heard Tally speaking, but she wasn't listening to the words at all. Her mind had wandered back to the alley.

She should have said something about that incident. She should have reported it, and she wasn't at all sure why she hadn't. Why hadn't she said anything?

"Hey." A small hand gently touched Carla's arm. "Are you OK?"

Carla forced herself to smile and meet Tally's eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

"I don't think anyone else wants a ride, so let's get going." Benjamin started the boat's engine and before long, they were skimming lightly over the water. Sunlight sparkled and danced on the surface; Wingull swooped around playfully as they tried to catch up with the boat. Carla almost wished she could join them.

She found herself breathing a little easier as they left Slateport behind them.

"I'm just going to let my Sharpedo out," Benjamin announced. "She could use a bit of exercise." He tossed a pokéball into the air and a large, streamlined shape emerged, landing in the water with a loud splash. Immediately it started to keep pace with the boat, one sharp fin sticking above the surface.

"Yeah, that's it!" Benjamin laughed. "Haven't lost your touch, have you?"

"How long until we get to Dewford?" Tally asked, peering towards the horizon as if expecting to see the island there.

"It won't be for a while yet, so just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Carla did just that. She leaned against the side of the boat and watched the waves go past. Every time she took a breath, she could taste salt on the air. Was this was flying felt like - this wild, exhilarating sense of freedom?

Eventually, a large mass of land appeared in the distance. Benjamin steered the boat directly towards it with a grin. "Not long now. Look, Brawly's enjoying the waves."

He pointed towards a figure riding the waves, perfectly balanced on a surfboard.

"How do you know it's him?" asked Tally curiously.

"I've made this trip masses of times," Benjamin told her. "I'd know him from any of the other surfers here any day."

As they neared the island, Carla saw small houses clustered together in groups. The only large buildings in Dewford were the Centre and the Gym, which had been built close to each other. Behind the small town was a large stretch of green as far as the eye could see.

Benjamin pulled the boat up alongside the jetty and helped the girls clamber ashore. "Hope you both have a good time here!"

"We will! Thank you!" Tally promised before staggering towards dry land. "My feet still think they're on the boat."

"So do mine," Carla admitted. The houses almost seemed to sway before her as she walked.

The Dewford Centre was almost completely deserted. Carla and Tally wiped their feet on the rough mat just inside the door, but they still left a trail of sand behind them.

"Do you want separate rooms, or do you want to share one?" the nurse asked.

"I think we'll share again," Tally replied.

The nurse rummaged beneath the desk for the room keys and handed them over to the girls.

"Thanks. Is there a launderette we could use?" Carla asked.

"Sure there is. It's just through that door over there."

Carla pushed the door open and saw there was only one washing machine inside the small, cramped room, and the dryer was already in use. A young woman was seated on the chair next to the dryer, watching the clothes inside spin around.

It didn't take long for the girls to load the washing-machine and get it going.

"I'm gonna go and have a shower," Tally announced.

"All right. I'll stay here." Once Tally was gone, Carla turned to the young woman and said: "I'm just going to let my team out; is that OK?"

"That's fine."

Two minutes later, Zoe and Tess were chasing each other in circles around Carla's chair while Rakel watched them. Carla was pleased to see the Snorunt and Vullaby were moving faster than they had been before.

She made a mental note to increase their endurance training from then on.

* * *

"It's beautiful out here." Tally was gazing out over the water, mesmerised by the waves as they gently swept up the sand. The girls had wandered out of town and were walking along the water's edge. "Just think, the people who live in Dewford get to see this every day!"

Carla had to admit that she was right. The early morning sun was shining down while a cold, wind blew across the island, making the trees behind them rustle gently. Tally was wearing shorts, but Carla was glad to be wearing jeans.

"This is a good spot," she said. Judging from the burn marks and gouges in the rocks, this was a very popular training area.

She called out her team. "We're going to train here for a bit," she told them. "Zoe, could you..." Carla thought for a moment. "Keep hitting that rock over there as hard as you can with Weather Ball. Tess, use Fury Attack on that fallen tree. Rakel, you're going to be working on your Psywave on _that_ rock."

With a delighted chirp, Tess hopped over to the tree and started drilling at it with sharp pecks. Zoe started shooting fireballs at the rock Carla had pointed at.

Rakel hovered over to the other rock. Her necklace glowed crimson and a small purple wave blossomed out of the jewel in the centre. As it made contact with the rock, tiny pieces of stone crumbled off and fell away.

"Aren't you going to start training?" Carla asked Tally. The other girl shrugged and looked at the sand.

"I don't really know what to work on."

Carla frowned. Tally hadn't had that problem last time. "Well, is there anything your team _needs_ to work on? What about your Cleffa? What attacks does she need to practice?"

Now Tally looked a little embarrassed. "I'm not really sure. She doesn't know any actual attacks. She can use Encore, Sing and Sweet Kiss."

"If you want, I can scan her with my dex and see what it shows," Carla suggested.

Suddenly, there was a loud screech from Tess. Carla raced towards her and knelt. "Tess, are you OK?"

Splinters of wood had flown away from the fallen tree and were lying on the sand. Carla took hold of Tess' head and tilted it from side to side. "Did one get in your eye?"

Tess chirruped and wriggled away, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Tess. Your Fury Attack's grown a lot stronger."

Tess puffed out her chest proudly.

"Want to train with Treble for a bit?"

Tess nodded. Carla took her over to where Tally stood waiting. Treble stood on the sand beside her trainer; Carla took her dex out of her bag and scanned the little Cleffa.

"It says she knows Copycat. And..." Carla stared at the screen, frowning. "It also says 'Magical Leaf' in brackets."

"Why in brackets?" Tally asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it means she can't learn it yet."

"What does Copycat do?"

"I think it lets her copy attacks from other pokémon," Carla said. "Have you used it before?"

Tally shook her head. "I don't think I have. Can we try it now?"

"Sure. Tess, use Fake Tears."

Tess immediately burst into tears. Startled, Treble ran towards the Vullaby, squeaking frantically and waving her stubby arms.

"Hey, it's OK!" Tally said, reaching out to stop her. "It's all right, she's fine!" When the Cleffa looked up at her incredulously, she said: "Now use Copycat. Do what she's doing."

Treble frowned and concentrated hard, looking directly at Tess. Her lower lip began to quiver and tears filled her eyes. Then she started bawling just as hard and as loudly as Tess.

"That's it!" cried Tally. "Ask Tess to do another attack."

"Tess, use Leer now."

Tess stopped crying and narrowed her eyes menacingly at Treble. Treble squeaked and started shivering, but she held her ground.

"Use Copycat again, Treble," Tally pressd encouragingly. "You can do it!"

Treble pressed her tiny feet into the sand and tried to copy Tess's expression. Carla didn't think it was nearly as intimidating, but Tally seemed delighted.

"Can we try that with other attacks?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's..."

It was then that Carla realised she wasn't paying attention to her other team members. She looked around for them: Rakel was still sending Psywaves at her rock, but Zoe had stopped practicing and was panting heavily. After a moment, she started firing again.

"OK, stop now!" Carla called. Her team was getting tired, and it was nearing lunchtime.

"Yeah, good idea." Tally returned Treble to her capsule. "I need to call my parents."

Carla froze.

Maybe you should call home too.

Yes, maybe she should. If she didn't, her father would begin to worry and that was the last thing she wanted.

Her stomach clenched. The conversation wouldn't be pleasant, but it had to be done. It also meant she could discreetly check up on her sister. And...it would be good to hear their voices.

"I'm going to let Boing out," Tally announced. "I think he needs some exercise, and he'd love to be in the sea again."

She took off her shoes and socks, dusted the sand off the soles of her shoes and put them in her bag before pulling out Boing's capsule and throwing it towards the sea. Once the Wailmer was out, she retrieved the capsule and walked towards him. Carla watched with interest as Boing lowered himself in the water, allowing Tally to climb onto his back.

"Come on, Carla. We'll race you!"

"Wait - _race_? What does that..."

But Boing was already moving, ploughing through the waves with ease, Tally balanced perfectly on top. Carla started jogging to try and keep up with them. After a few seconds, Tally gave her a sideways glance and grinned playfully.

"Faster, Boing!"

The Wailmer sped up, forcing Carla to do the same. Then she was running alongside the water, Tally's laughter ringing in her ears. Determined not to let Boing and Tally beat her, Carla started to run even faster, while her hair blew behind her and the surf tried to catch her feet. She gasped in the sea air and was suddenly hit by the urge to keep going. At that moment, she felt as if she could keep racing for a long, long time.

Dewford Town came into view. When she was opposite the Centre, Carla staggered to a halt and dropped to her knees. "I think...you win," she forced out. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the sky.

"That was fun!" Tally cried as she splashed ashore.

Yes, Carla thought, a tiny laugh spilling from her mouth. It was.

* * *

The Centre telephone felt slippery in her hands.

Carla had spent the entire afternoon battling people on the beach, but she couldn't put this off any longer. Slowly, she dialled her home number.

Her father's face flashed onto the screen after two rings. It took all of Carla's willpower not to flinch.

"Hi, Dad," she said.

He said nothing. Just stared at her. She fought the urge to clench her fists at her side.

"Carla," he said eventually. "You're looking well."

"Thanks."

"And you've had a haircut."

"I kind of had to," she said. "It's dangerous in the wild with long hair."

"Know what else is dangerous?" Theo said conversationally. "Going on a pokémon journey and not taking your phone with you."

Carla tried not to let her alarm show. "Yeah, I...I didn't think things through."

"No, you didn't. Not only did I get to read a letter that you seem to think explained everything, but I found out you didn't even want us to contact you!"

"I didn't know what to say if you did!"

"What about the truth?"

Carla blinked rapidly. How could she tell him the truth?

_How can you __**not**__ tell him?_

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

There was silence.

"You know," Theo said after a while, "I always thought it would be your sister who would run off on a journey. It looks like you really do take after your mother."

"Yeah, but she actually told her parents, didn't she?"

"And you clearly planned your escape just as well as she did." Theo paused. "You could have told me. You could have said you wanted to travel before becoming a coordinator. I would have understood."

He might have - but it would still have been a lie.

"Do you have another phone?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good. You shouldn't be without one. Have you heard about what happened in Slateport two nights ago?"

Carla leaned in closer to the screen. "No - what happened?"

"Two girls were attacked by pokémon thieves. Police officers heard screaming and went to investigate; turns out those thieves have been on the blacklist for a long time, but they've always managed to escape. If you'd been attacked, Carla, you wouldn't have been able to get help without a phone."

"I know. I'm being careful, Dad."

Theo sighed, his whole body seeming to sag in relief. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Can I talk to Glennis?"

"She's taken Nadine out for a walk, but I'll tell her you called." Theo smiled at Carla. "How many pokémon have you got?"

"Three. They're being healed right now."

"What are their names?" Theo asked.

"Zoe, Tess and Rakel." Carla refrained from mentioning what species they were - and that she had a badge. "I used your heal ball to catch Rakel."

Theo gave Carla another soft smile. "I can't wait to meet them. Take care of yourself, Carla, and - stay in touch, will you? Even if it's not a phone call. We'd be happy with just a postcard."

"I will."

"Goodbye, Carla." With that, Theo hung up. Carla let out a shuddering sigh and replaced her end of the phone as well. Neither of them was very good at talking on the phone, but the conversation had still felt short and forced.

She didn't know if the feeling in her chest was relief or shame.

_Police officers heard screaming._

She sat upright again. If the arrest had happened on the same night she'd gone out walking, it must have been Rakel they'd heard screaming. Those running feet she had heard must have been one of the officers.

"Hey!" Tally had come up behind her. She stood there, beaming. "Ready to go and eat?"

"Yeah." Carla hopped off the stool and picked up her bag.

"How was your family?"

"They were fine," Carla said bluntly. "How was yours?"

"Mum says our new saplings are growing taller; she's thinking about getting a new poochyena, but she's not sure we can afford one yet."

"Do you have brothers and sisters?" Carla asked, finally curious about Tally's home and family.

"No; it's just me. You?"

"A sister. She's older than me." Carla glanced impatiently towards the nurse's desk.

"Really? I always wanted a sister," Tally said wistfully.

Carla shot her a half-serious, half-mocking glare. "Well, I'm not sharing mine!"

"Hey!" the nurse called. "Girl with the Snorunt and Vullaby? They're fully healed."

Carla hurried over, her shoes leaving a trail of sand on the lobby floor. "Thanks," she said, taking her team's capsules and putting them into her bag.

"I've been thinking," Tally said as Carla returned. "That Benjamin guy mentioned a mural. Where did he say it was again?"

"Granite Cave. Did you want to see it?"

"Well, he said it was for trainers and not tourists, and we _are_ trainers."

Carla raised her eyebrows. "Yes. Why don't we go tomorrow? I'm exhausted from all that battling." All she wanted to do at that moment was lie on her bed and sleep for a week. Her team probably felt the same way.

"Yeah, all right!" Tally said, beaming. "I can't wait to see it. It must be _amazing_."

* * *

Carla inhaled cold moisture every time she breathed in. It was refreshing, but she kept her eyes on the shadows and one hand on Zoe's pokéball as they headed deeper into the cave.

"How much farther?" Tally asked, glancing anxiously towards the ceiling.

"I don't know. We'll know it when we see it."

The girls stopped walking. Just ahead of them, a large opening loomed in the cave wall. Carla swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. "I think that's it."

"All right." Tally's voice was strangely hushed. "Let's go."

As they entered, Carla felt the breath leave her lungs. The cavern was large as a banqueting hall, with steps leading up to a ledge at the far end. The girls' footsteps echoed as they walked across the stone floor and up the steps.

Groudon spewed molten flame from his jaws towards the sky, a blazing sun swirling above him. All around him, newly formed volcanoes shot magma into the air. Opposite him, Kyogre rose from the waves and into a storm of her own creation. Her mouth was open in a roar that must have been as loud as thunder.

Carla couldn't take her eyes off the mural. Whoever painted it knew exactly what Groudon and Kyogre were capable of. Had they witnessed the Primal Forms themselves and created the images in the cave as a reminder of what the legends could inflict on the world?

Carla suddenly felt cold. The air in the cave was thick and heavy.

It could have happened again. The Awakening could have turned into a second Primal Battle. _Hoenn could have been destroyed_.

"We need to go."

"What? Why?" Tally asked, her voice full of confusion. "We only just..."

Carla whirled around to face her. The air in the cave was thick and heavy; it seemed to press in on them. "We need to leave. Now."

Something in her face must have convinced Tally, because the other girl nodded quickly and hurried out of the cavern beside her. Carla forced herself not to break into a run as they went back the way they came, her legs starting to burn from going up more steps. After what seemed like hours, they burst out into the sunlight. Carla leaned against a nearby rock, taking deep breaths.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Carla nodded. "Sorry." She didn't know what had come over her.

The sound of footsteps on the sand made her open her eyes again. A woman stood in front of them, an Arcanine and Medicham standing beside her; when she saw Carla and Tally had noticed her, she stepped aside and beckoned for them to follow her. Her dark hair was ruffled by the wind and her eyes stood out sharply in her thin face.

Once the girls were standing in front of her, the woman held up a licence in front of their eyes. then showed the girls a small photo. "Is this trainer in the cave?"

Carla shook her head. "I don't know. We didn't see him."

She glanced over her shoulder to see the Arcanine sniffing at the entrance of Granite Cave. It looked back at the woman and dipped its head once.

The Medicham leaned in a little closer, its black eyes fixed on the girls.

"Are you sure he's not there?" the woman asked, her eyes just as dark and piercing as her pokémon's. They roamed intently over first Carla's face, then Tally's.

"If he is in the cave," Carla said, "we didn't see him."

The woman glanced at her Medicham, who nodded. "All right. But I suggest you go back to Dewford now. Do _not_ follow me inside." Her eyes held a fierce warning.

"Why? What's going on?" Tally asked. "Why shouldn't..."

But the woman and the Medicham were already walking towards Granite Cave. Carla set off in the direction of Dewford Town, strongly resisting the urge to look behind her.

"What was that about?" Tally demanded as she caught up with her. "Was...was that a hunter?"

"Yeah, she was." Carla had been wondering if she would meet one while she was on her journey.

Dangerous and vicious pokémon were a problem in every region and it was a hunter's job to capture them so they wouldn't harm anyone, trainer or civilian. It was only when young trainers started to form gangs that the PTPL decided to hire them to take care of rogues as well as pokémon. Several people, including Carla's father, were outraged at first, but they were impressed when it became obvious that the techniques hunters used to capture rogues actually worked.

"Do you think he is in the cave? The trainer, I mean."

"Yes." The Arcanine had picked up his scent. Whoever he was, he was trapped in there now.

Carla wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for him.

**Thanks for reading so far!**

**Carla's not going to catch another pokémon for a couple more chapters – and it might not be what you were expecting. Stay tuned.**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Runaway Train' by Little Big Town.**


	7. 6: Proud Of Where I Came From

Chapter Six: Proud Of Where I Came From

"How long _is_ this route?" Tally asked in wonder.

"I'm not sure." Carla looked up at the bridge towering above them, then at the building stationed in front of it. "Let's ask in there."

She pushed the door open and caught sight of a man in a smart blue uniform seated behind a desk. He smiled as Carla and Tally walked up to him.

"Hi! What can I do for you today?"

"Do you know how long it'll take us to get to Mauville from here?" Tally asked him.

He exhaled loudly. "Well, that depends. If you're cycling, you'll reach Mauville in about two days; if you're walking, it'll take you a bit longer than that. Four days, maybe five. But I'm guessing you don't have bikes."

"No," Carla replied flatly.

"We've got some rentals, if you want to use them."

Carla hesitated. She wanted to say yes, but she wasn't sure how much it would cost and she couldn't afford to waste any money.

"I've never ridden a bike before," Tally admitted.

"Well...I'd like to walk," Carla said after a moment. "We'd be able to do some training then, and my team needs more experience."

"But you spent ages training and battling on the beach!" Tally told her. "How much experience do they need?"

They had spent a lot of time on the beaches of Dewford - mostly battling surfers who'd wanted a rematch against Carla. As the days passed, Carla realised most of the beachgoers were expecting at least one of them to challenge Brawly and were curious as to why they hadn't.

After overhearing a conversation and realising this curiosity extended to Brawly himself, Carla suggested to Tally that they go back to the mainland.

"As much as they can get!" Carla said, shocked Tally would even ask that question. "And Treble might learn Magical Leaf while we're here."

Tally sighed. "Fine. We'll walk."

"Have a safe journey," the man behind the desk called as they left the building.

The road was surrounded on both sides by a wall that was low enough to peer over, but not quite high enough to climb over. There was a good reason for that, as there was a large stretch of water surrounding the route Carla and Tally would take. Clumps of grass had grown all about the route; they looked like the perfect hiding places for wild pokémon.

"It's not actually going to take four days to walk down that road, is it?" Tally asked uncertainly.

"I don't think so. We still have to get to Mauville from the other side of the road." Carla looked upward; it didn't look as if it was going to rain, but clouds were gradually starting to block out the sun. "Let's go while it's still light."

"Hey, wait up!"

The girls turned to see a figure jogging up behind them. He wore a red jacket, pale blue jeans and dirt-stained trainers; when he reached them, he doubled over and panted for a few seconds before straightening up and saying: "Hi. Can I battle one of you?"

Tally looked at Carla pleadingly.

"Do you want to..." Carla began, and stopped when the black-haired girl shook her head. She turned back to the newcomer. "I'll battle you."

"Great. One of my team's just evolved; I want to see what he can do." The boy took out a shining pokéball from his jacket pocket and enlargened it.

Carla chose Tess' capsule and threw it into the air just as the boy released his pokémon.

As soon as Carla saw the other pokémon, she knew she'd made a mistake. It was covered in blue and black fur, with blue paws and a black mane that surrounded his head in spiky tufts. His yellow eyes gleamed and his tail swished aggressively.

Carla gritted her teeth.

"All right, Frank, use Charge!" the boy shouted.

"Use Fury Attack!"

Tess launched herself at Frank's head, raining pecks on it. The pokémon growled and shook her off, taking a few paces backward. His fur crackled with electricity.

"You know what to do, Frank."

"Get out of the way!" Carla yelled. Tess scrambled to the side, but she couldn't evade the attack. She tumbled backwards, her feathers smoking.

Then she burst into tears, her wails bouncing off the walls.

"Yeah, nice try. Use Roar!"

Frank opened his mouth and unleashed a devastating sound that seemed to make the ground tremble. Carla shrieked and covered her ears. To her horror, a bolt of red energy shot out of Tess' capsule and sucked the Vullaby back in; the next second, Rakel was floating in mid-air, looking completely bewildered.

"A Ghost, huh? Use Bite, Frank!"

Carla needed to take control. "Astonish!"

Rakel screamed as loudly as she could; Frank stopped mid-leap and landed on all four paws.

"Now use Psywave, Rakel!"

Frank sprawled onto his side as the wave of purple energy hit him. Growling, he got to his feet and glared at Rakel.

"Wait a minute." The boy was pointing at Carla, his dark eyes wide. "It's _you_!"

"What do you mean, 'it's me'?"

"That night in Slateport. It was _your_ Misdreavus, wasn't it?"

"Are we having a battle or not?" Carla asked, folding her arms.

"Yes, we are. Use Thunder Fang, Frank!"

Frank snarled and leaped directly towards Rakel, clamping his jaws shut on her. Bolts of electricity shot from his teeth and directly into Rakel; she closed her eyes and wailed in pain.

"Give up?" the boy asked, grinning.

"Astonish," was Carla's answer. She wasn't going to give up; not now, not ever.

But was there any way she was going to win this? Norman's words came back to her: _It is important to know when not to give up - and just as vital to know when you're fighting a losing battle._

Frank let go of Rakel, shaking his head; Rakel floated a little higher, her crimson eyes narrowed angrily.

Both trainers shouted an attack at the exact same time.

"Psywave!"

"Spark!"

The two attacks collided, sending black smoke everywhere. Carla coughed, raising an arm to shield her eyes. When she lowered them, Frank was panting slightly, his fur slightly singed.

Rakel lay motionless just in front of him.

Carla rushed over and knelt beside her. "You did great, Rakel," she said as she took out the pink heal ball and tapped the Misdreavus with it. Rakel disappeared in a flash of crimson light.

The boy was walking towards Carla, one hand outstretched.

Carla got to her foot, took out some notes and put them in his palm.

He laughed awkwardly. "I was going to shake your hand, but OK. Thanks."

It was just a loss, Carla told herself as she ruthlessly squashed down the mixture of helplessness and emotion threatening to well up inside her. It was just _one loss_.

With that thought, the emotion completely disappeared. Rakel had done well. There would be other victories.

The boy stuffed the notes into his pocket and held out his hand again.

"Good match," Carla said, shaking it sincerely.

"Thanks; you too. But hey," he said, his expression changing, "it _was_ you, wasn't it?"

"What was you, Carla?" Tally asked as she came up to stand beside Carla. "What's he talking about?"

"When I went out for a walk that night in Slateport," Carla said slowly, "some thieves tried to steal pokémon from two girls. I had to use Rakel to distract them. But how did _you_ know about that?"

"Because that was my Noctowl."

There had been a large bird flapping its wings at the thieves - and the other trainer hidden in the alleys had been wearing a red jacket.

Seeing the recognition on Carla's face, the boy said: "I'm Bruno Ellis. Nice to meet you."

"Carla Saverre."

"And I'm Tally McBride." Tally shook the hand Bruno held out to her, beaming happily. "So you guys stopped the thieves? That's awesome!"

"No, it wasn't," Bruno said. "Those girls just needed help and I didn't know what else to do."

"Neither did I," added Carla.

"Oh. Well," Tally mumbled, "I think it was awesome."

Frank was standing next to his trainer, his yellow eyes roaming over the long grass behind the two girls. Carla looked at him curiously.

"He's a Luxio," Bruno explained. "Evolved from a Shinx half an hour ago. So, where are you guys going? Are you going to Mauville City?"

"Yes!" Tally said eagerly. "Why don't we all go together?"

* * *

"Where are you from, Bruno?"

The three trainers were seated around a small campfire, their tents pitched in a tight circle. None of them wanted to travel through the night, so they decided to make camp before moving on in the morning. An orange and crimson sky blazed above them; the edges of the sunset were just beginning to turn a deep purple.

Nearby, all three pokémon teams were eating from their bowls. Pinch, Bruno's Corphish, kept eyeing Hazel's bowl, but a single glare from the Noctowl was enough to make him keep to his own food. There was a small gap in the wall that might have been used by fishermen; Tally had quickly taken advantage of that by releasing Boing into the water and laughingly throwing food into his open mouth.

"I'm from Floe Island," Bruno said through a mouthful of sandwich. "That's one of the Sevii Islands."

"Really?" Tally sounded intrigued. The Sevii Islands were officially part of Kanto, but from the way people talked about them, they were almost an individual region.

"Yup!" Bruno was smiling. "My parents run the daycare centre there."

"You must have seen all kinds of pokémon!" Tally breathed.

"We do. That's how I got Frank." Bruno reached out and ruffled the Luxio's mane; Frank growled softly but allowed the rough affection. "Raised him from an egg."

"That sounds amazing," said Tally. "My parents run a berry farm."

They both looked at Carla, who shrugged. "My dad works in a museum."

She hadn't meant to make them both laugh but when they did, she found herself smiling as well.

"Why'd you come over to Hoenn?" Carla asked, curious about what had drawn Bruno from his home region to a place like Hoenn.

"Well, I want to sign up for a breeding course, but I haven't really _seen_ much, you know? I hadn't even left the island before. Just wanted to get out there and travel for a bit before starting the course. A breeder friend of my dad's is arriving in Mauville soon; we're gonna meet up and talk about basics. What about you? Why'd you start a journey?" Bruno asked before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Carla hesitated. "Same reasons you did. I wanted to travel before starting a course."

"Ooh, what kind of course, Carla?" Tally asked. Treble clambered onto her lap, holding the tiny pink bow in one hand; Tally gently fastened it onto the Cleffa's curl. Treble hopped down and ran over to her bowl before Pinch could swipe what was left of her food.

"A coordinating course," Carla replied offhandedly.

"You didn't say anything about that earlier." Was it her imagination, or did Tally sound a little hurt by that?

"I guess I never found the right time to mention it." Carla smiled apologetically at Tally. The other girl seemed to accept the non-verbal apology, but Carla felt a little sad inside. She'd wanted to be a coordinator for so long and it looked like that path was closed off to her now.

_It's not closed off._

"I got a call from my mum this morning." Bruno said, leaning in a little closer. "She said there was an incident with a rogue on the island."

"Really?" Tally asked. "What happened?"

"This rogue had been hiding on Floe Island for a week before any of us knew he was there. When someone new arrives, we normally know about it in five minutes, but Mum got a knock on the door at seven in the morning. It was a couple of hunters; they told Mum and Dad to stay indoors because this rogue was...well, he was..."

"Dangerous?" suggested Tally.

"Yeah, that's the word. He managed to get halfway up the mountain before the hunters caught him."

"Wait, I thought bounty hunting was illegal in Kanto." As far as Carla knew, the only other region that had outlawed hunting was Sinnoh.

"It is, but only on the Kanto _mainland_. Sevii's a different game."

By now, the sun had very nearly set. Carla was about to suggest they turn in for the night, but realised they were in no hurry at all. They didn't have to be anywhere at that moment and the fire was still burning strong.

They could stay up as late as they wanted.

"We met a hunter a few days ago," she said.

"What happened?"

"She was looking for this trainer and asked if we'd seen him in Granite Cave - that's the large cave in Dewford - but we hadn't, so she went inside with her pokémon."

"That doesn't mean he wasn't in there," Bruno pointed out.

"He was." Tally ran her fingers through her windswept hair, wincing as she encountered a knotty tangle. "People on the beach were talking about it for ages. They all wanted to know how he got on the island in the first place."

"Maybe he caught a boat or something."

"But people would have seen him if he'd arrived on a boat," Carla told Bruno. She kept a watchful eye on her team. Tess, Zoe and Rakel didn't seem to mind the new arrivals at all. In fact, Tess almost seemed in awe of Hazel.

"Could he have got there at night?" Bruno asked as he fed another stick to the fire.

"He might have," Carla said doubtfully. "If he did, he didn't get a boat from Slateport. Trips to Dewford only take place during the day."

As Bruno and Tally continued to talk about how the rogue might have reached Dewford without anyone knowing about it, Carla's mind drifted back to her lost ambitions. Once her journey was over, and Glennis had the money she needed, what would happen afterwards?

She knew exactly what would happen afterwards. Her family wouldn't be in danger, and they would be left in peace. Her father would never find out about the threat hanging over them.

The stronger Carla and her team became, the more battles they would win. The more battles they won, the more money Glennis would receive and she'd be able to pay off that _monster_ even quicker. That was what mattered.

And if Carla _ever_ came across Will, she would...

"So what's Mauville City like?" Bruno asked.

Carla and Tally looked at each other. Carla didn't know much about the city, apart from that brief visit with Bobby, but she could remember some basic facts about it.

"It's right in the middle of Hoenn, and the Gym Leader uses Electric-types. Oh, and it's twinned with Lumiose City in Kalos." Mauville and Lumiose were similar in a lot of ways. They were both built in the centre of their regions, both had Gyms that specialised in Electric-types, and both were rumoured to never, ever sleep. "It's actually based on Lumiose City; the Gym Leader redesigned Mauville into an indoor complex."

"I guess we'll find out what it's like in a few days," Tally said.

* * *

The southern entrance to the city was shielded beneath an arc of glass. Behind the arc, Mauville City towered above it, a solid block of stone and brick with windows. When Carla craned her neck to loop upward, she saw two large radio towers stationed on top of the complex.

"Hi." A man in a smart black uniform stood beside the archway. "Are you passing through, or are you going to stay for a bit?"

"We're _definitely_ staying for a bit," Tally replied, folding her arms.

"In that case, you need to know that battling's forbidden in Mauville streets. If you want to battle, you can do it in the Battle Food Court and the training rooms, or you can take it outside. But don't do it in the streets. Have you got that?"

The trainers nodded.

"Good. Enjoy your stay in Mauville."

As they walked through the tunnelling archway towards a set of glass doors, Tally whispered: "What's the Battle Food Court?"

"I don't know," Carla whispered back, not at all sure why she was doing so.

The doors slid open, revealing the city itself. Bruno let out a soft _Whoa_ as he saw the bustling crowd walking around inside.

"Where do you suppose the Centre is?" Tally asked, her voice shaking a little as she saw the crowd.

Carla saw a large green board with a layout of the city on it. "There's a map just over there." She hurried over towards it and peered closely until she saw the red symbol for the Centre right in the middle of the map, positioned in the top left corner of a large green square. As she glanced down, she saw a red arrow with YOU ARE HERE close to the southern gate.

"If we keep walking down there," she said, pointing down the street, "we'll find it."

They had to weave their way through the mass of people until they reached an open square of astroturf.

"Where's that breeder guy you told us about?" Tally asked.

"Oh, he's not here yet. He's gonna text me when he's in town. I don't know when that is, but I don't want to miss him."

"Hey, what's that?" Tally pointed at a white sculpture in the middle of the astroturf.

"That's meant to be the Prism Tower in Lumiose City," Carla told her. "The real Tower is much bigger than...No, don't step on that patch just there!"

"Why not?" Then Bruno saw the sign saying Teleport Landing Area - Keep Clear. "Oh. Yeah." He scrambled away, following Carla and Tally into the Centre.

The lobby was just as full as it was during the visit with Bobby. Estelle was on duty at the desk; when it was finally the three trainers' turn, she gave Carla a brief nod.

"You got the haircut, then. Good. It suits you. Now," she said, her manner brisk and businesslike, "would you like to get your teams, a room, or both?"

"Both, I think," Carla replied.

"I'm afraid we're out of rooms at the Centre, but we do have some separate rooms that were built specially for trainers. They're just down the street from here, and each one can accommodate two people."

Bruno, who was standing next to Carla, shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"Me too," added Tally. "Carla and I have shared before."

"Excellent. Now, if you'll hand over your teams, I'll give you the pass keys. You'll find some rules for staying in the rooms on the bathroom door; I strongly suggest you read them as soon as possible."

Estelle put three trays on the desk in front of her. Carla unzipped her bag and took out Zoe and Tess' capsules. To her surprise, she could tell which one belonged to Zoe: the Snorunt's capsule was colder to the touch than Tess' was.

She put her pokéballs in one of the trays. Bruno and Tally's pokéballs clattered as they landed in the trays on either side of Carla's.

"Here are the keys. See the tiny light here?" Estelle held up one of the keys and pointed at a tiny light in the top right corner. "When that light starts flashing, that means your pokémon are ready to collect. We do have a large pool just through there," she said, pointing towards another set of clear doors, "if any of you have Water pokémon."

"Really?" Tally asked eagerly. "How large _is_ the pool? It's just that I've got a Wailmer, so..."

"Don't worry. It's more than big enough. Why don't you go and settle into your rooms while you're waiting for your teams to heal?" Estelle asked, with a pointed glance over Carla's shoulder.

Carla knew a hint when she heard one. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

"Oh my gosh!" Tally dropped her bag and flopped onto the nearer of the two beds. "This bed is so soft."

Carla sat down on the other bed. It did feel a lot softer than the beds at the other Centres - and there was no sand _anywhere_ in the room.

The room itself was simple but comfortable, with white walls and a single window that allowed the viewer to look at the wilds outside. A bathroom was hidden away behind a grey door. Each of the two beds had a small table beside it; a TV was mounted on one of the walls.

Carla took out Rakel's pokéball and released her. Rakel yawned and looked lazily around the room.

"How come you didn't give her over to the nurse?" Tally asked, making Rakel glance down at her. "Actually...you've _never_ given your Misdreavus over to be healed. Why is that?"

"I don't need to. Her Heal Ball's a special prototype. It'll heal her every single time she's returned, not just when she was captured." Carla smiled up at Rakel. "Pretty useful, isn't it?"

Rakel grinned smugly back at her.

There was a knock on the door. "Hey!" Bruno's voice called from outside. "Can I come in?"

"Sure!" Tally called. She got up, went over to the door and opened it, allowing Bruno to step into the room.

"So, have you checked out the rules yet?" he asked, pointing at the small booklet hanging on the bathroom door.

"Not yet," Carla admitted.

Bruno took the booklet off the door and studied the first page, which had a picture of a pokéball on it. "It says the same thing the guard told us: no battling in the city streets. If we do, we'll be asked to leave the rooms. There are training rooms, but we can't stay in them longer than an hour, and there are supervisors there too. How come?"

"Probably because they don't want arguments over the rooms getting out of hand," Carla pointed out.

"Fair enough." Bruno turned the page. "There's a list of shops, and there's a guide to stalls in the Food Court if we want to eat there instead of the Centre's canteen. Oh, and there are rules for the Battle Food Court on the next page."

"Really?" Carla asked, intrigued. Rakel floated a little closer to her. "What does it say?"

"You order your food first and either hang around or look for a table. If there's a free table, you sit down and wait for your food or you can challenge someone for their seat. If you lose the battle, you lose the table. If you win three times before your food arrives, you get to keep your seat. As soon as you finish eating, you have to leave your table."

"What happens if you lose the table before your food's ready?" asked Tally.

"Says here there are takeaway boxes available." Bruno snapped the booklet shut. "Once our team's healed, you want to check it out?"

"The Battle Food Court? Yeah, why not?" Tally said. "I am pretty hungry."

Food sounded like a wonderful idea. But that wasn't the only thought that had just entered Carla's head.

"Bruno," she said slowly, "while we're in Mauville, could my team work with Frank for a bit?"

"Yeah, of course. Why?"

"I'd like to make them more resistant to Electric attacks."

Tally drew in her breath sharply. "Ohhh." She pointed at Carla, her eyes glinting. "You're going to challenge the Gym Leader, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Hold on," Bruno said, holding up his hands. "I thought you wanted to be a _coordinator_."

"I do."

"So why are you taking the Gym challenge?"

"Because..." Carla hesitated, trying to think of the best way to tell them her reasons without actually mentioning any of them. "It's kind of a personal reason."

"What is it? Come on, it's no big deal!" Bruno sounded a little exasperated.

"If she doesn't want to tell you, don't make her," Tally remonstrated.

"OK, OK, sorry. It's just...on Floe Island, we normally tell each other everything."

Carla could understand that. If Floe Island was as small a community as she imagined it was, keeping a secret would be virtually impossible.

She'd only known Bruno for a few days. That wasn't long enough for her to confide in him.

Then again, she hadn't told Tally why she was challenging Gym Leaders either.

"How long do you think it'll be before our teams are ready?" she asked casually. "I am absolutely starving."

"Judging from that queue?" Bruno said with a half-laugh. "Could be _ages_."

**Thanks for reading so far!**

**Stay safe.  
**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Boondocks' by Little Big Town.**


	8. 7: Not Made Of Porcelain

Chapter Seven: Not Made Of Porcelain

If Carla had been staying in Mauville on her own, she would have eaten at the Centre canteen every single day. Since she had company, she bought her meals from the Food Court every day, taking care not to buy anything that was too pricey. The prize money from battling Wattson would more than make up for the amount spent on food.

And...well, she was rather enjoying Bruno and Tally's company.

They spent an hour a day in one of the training rooms, which contained a selection of useful items such as practice dummies, targets and even a small obstacle course. When the hour was up, they wandered out of the city and trained outside. Zoe and Rakel both learned new moves and Treble learned Magical Leaf, much to Tally's delight.

Carla knew she couldn't use Tess in the battle against Wattson, but she still made all three of her team members battle Frank so they would become used to Electric attacks. Tess disliked this intensely at first, but Carla told her the training would make it easier for her to brush the attacks off.

"It'll make you a lot tougher as well, because you have a weakness against Electic attacks and they don't."

Tess seemed to accept the explanation, because she shook herself and fluffed up her feathers.

Carla also took the time to research Wattson's battling style and what kind of team he might use against her. Since she only had one badge, it would most likely be another two-on-two battle. No doubt Wattson knew exactly how to counter pokémon that had an advantage over his speciality.

He wouldn't see Carla and the girls coming.

While practicing in one of the training rooms, Carla noticed Zoe's Weather Ball reacted to the weather regardless of whether or not the user was indoors or outdoors. She wasn't sure why that was, even when Bruno enthusiastically asked her.

Boing loved the indoor pool at the Centre. Tally spent ages sitting on the edge, her bare feet resting in the water as the Wailmer swam the length of the pool back and forth repeatedly. Bruno let Pinch play in the water as well, but he had to recall the Corphish more than once after Pinch started pestering pokémon larger and stronger than he was.

On the sixth day, Carla looked around the Battle Food Court and wondered if they would be eating their food off plates or from takeaway boxes. There was still space at the table they were seated at, but only enough for one person.

"We've been here for fifteen minutes," Tally said, peering around as well. "How come nobody's challenged us yet? Our food'll be ready soon."

"You sound like you _want_ someone to battle us!" Bruno laughed.

"Well, it is a bit weird, isn't it?" Tally asked. "Why hasn't anyone approached us for a battle?"

"Maybe it's because we're in a group." Carla idly played with the lid of her water bottle. "Challengers only go after trainers who are sitting by themselves."

"Huh. That's a good point. You know," Bruno remarked, suddenly changing the subject, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you." He rested his elbows on the table. "What's the deal with the PTPL?"

"What do you mean by _what's the deal_?" Carla asked.

"I know what it stands for," Bruno said impatiently. "I just want to know...are they for real? Do they do what they say they do?"

"Well...yeah. They do. Nobody was sure about them at first, but they've actually saved a lot of lives."

"Why wasn't anyone sure about them?"

"Because protecting trainers and pokémon is what the Pokémon League was supposed to do," Carla told him. "Or at least, that's what we thought."

"So what changed?" Bruno asked. He sounded confused.

"Have you ever heard of..."

"Hey."

Everyone looked up to see a boy standing close to their table. He wore a black jacket over a blue T-shirt and his dark red hair was clustered in curls very close to his head. "I want to battle you for your table," he said.

"There's another seat right there." Bruno pointed to the empty chair next to him.

"I don't want the seat. I want the _table_."

"All right." Bruno got to his feet. "Just hold on and I'll..."

"Not you," the boy said. "Her."

He pointed his finger directly at Tally's face. She flinched back, her eyes growing wide.

"Um, OK. Budge up, Carla, and let me out."

As Tally edged past her and into the space between the table and the counter, Bruno and Carla shared an anxious glance.

"Is she a good battler?" Bruno whispered.

"I'm more worried about him," was Carla's reply.

"One on one?" Tally called to the redhead, who shrugged his shoulders. "All right. Come out, Glossie!"

The Spoink landed elegantly on her tail and began to bounce up and down on the spot.

"Sid, go!" the redhead shouted.

Sid was a Minun. His cheeks crackled with electricity at the sight of his opponent.

"I'll start us off. Use Quick Attack, Sid!"

"Glossie, use Psybeam!"

Sid easily dodged the Psybeam attack. Glossie fired off another one, but the Minun simply leaped aside. Carla could have sworn he was snickering.

"Use Confuse Ray!"

A glowing purple orb appeared in front of Glossie's head and shot right towards Sid's. The Minun stopped running and watched in bewilderment as the orb circled his head until it was a blur. When the blur faded, Sid staggered around aimlessly as if he'd been spun around repeatedly.

"Snap out of it, Sid, and use Spark!" cried the redhead.

Sid tried to send the attack towards Glossie, but stumbled over his own tail and lost control. He shrieked as volts of electricity zapped his body.

"Use Psybeam, Glossie!"

Glossie's pearl glowed bright blue, and the next moment a multicoloured beam of energy shot out of it and right towards Sid. It was a direct hit; he tumbled over backwards until he came to a halt by his trainer's feet.

The redhead clenched his fists. He pulled a pokéball out of his jacket pocket and withdrew the Minun.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're not even going to finish the battle?" a voice cried from a nearby table, but the boy was already stalking off.

"You can sit with us at our table if you want..." Tally's voice trailed away as she watched him leave. Then she went over to Glossie and withdrew her before coming back to the table.

"I know some trainers can be sore losers," Bruno said as Tally sat down, "but that was something else."

"That wasn't even losing," Carla said. "That was quitting."

A man in a white shirt came over with two plates of food. "One Krabby Kroquettes and one Spicy Sub?"

"I'm the Kroquettes!" Tally cried.

"And the Spicy Sub's mine," added Carla. The sight of the sub crammed with meatballs and spicy tamato sauce reminded her sharply of how hungry she was.

"Yours is coming up soon," the waiter said to Bruno before gliding away.

Tally beamed before digging her fork into her fried dumplings. "You've got to try a Swirlix Crush as well," she said, holding up her drink. "It's _so_ sweet!"

"I don't really like very sweet drinks." Carla wished she could have bought a bluk juice; she loved the flavour, and it always left her tongue and lips blue after she finished it. Glennis used to tease her about it when they were younger.

"When are you challenging Wattson?" Bruno asked her.

"Soon. I need to do another training session after 's nearly got Headbutt perfected, and Rakel's finished learning her new moves as well. I just have to wait for the right time to go to the Gym."

"Well, when _is_ the right time?"

"It should be tomorrow."

* * *

"Well now! You certainly got past the rigged doors quickly!"

Wattson's hair was pure white and his beard stuck out at strange angles, as if he'd stuck his finger in a socket. His eyes shone and sparkled brightly despite his age, and Carla felt as if she'd walked into a room and came across somebody's beloved grandfather. He wore a bright yellow shirt with a black waistcoat over the top.

She couldn't let her guard down, though. It hadn't been easy to find the right path through the doors, and she'd had to double back more than once. She couldn't afford to underestimate him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a referee standing close to the wall. Like Wattson, he wore a yellow shirt with a black waistcoat.

"What's your name, young lady?" Wattson asked jovially.

"Carla." When Wattson raised his eyebrows as if to prompt her, she added: "My last name's Saverre."

"Brace yourself, Carla, because you're about to receive quite a shock!" Wattson's laugh echoed around the room. It was a booming sound that made Carla want to step backwards. Was this his actual personality, or just an act he put on to deceive challengers?

"This will be a two-on-two battle," announced the referee. "The first one to knock out both of their opponent's pokémon is the winner. The challenger is allowed to make substitutions, but the Gym Leader is not."

Carla's hand grasped Zoe's pokéball tightly. Wattson took a capsule off his belt and tossed it into the space before him; a green and yellow form landed on the floor and fixed Carla with a challenging stare. It was an Electrike, the other canine pokémon native to Hoenn.

"Zoe, you're up."

As Zoe materialised, Carla noticed the smooth floor of the Gym. It might be risky, but maybe the strategy she'd used to defeat Norman would work here too. There was no danger of Rakel falling prey to it.

"A Snorunt! I haven't battled one of those in a long time!" Wattson said with another guffaw. "Challenger gets the first move."

"Use Icy Wind."

As she'd expected, the attack blasted along the floor as well as the Electrike, who slid backwards before coming to a halt, growling angrily, his sharp white teeth glinting.

"Hit 'em with a Tackle!"

"Dodge and use Headbutt," Carla commanded.

Zoe swerved aside quickly before Electrike could collide with her. Then she lowered her head and charged forward, sending Electrike skidding across the floor again, this time with a startled yelp.

"All right, let's give her a Volt Switch!"

The Electrike's body crackled with electricity. A large bolt of lightning shot in Zoe's direction, hitting her and blasting her backwards. Luckily, she regained her footing quickly - just in time for her next opponent to appear in Electrike's place. It was a Magnemite.

Carla kept her face impassive. Wattson didn't know it, but he'd done exactly what she'd hoped he would. "Use Icy Wind again."

"Blast it apart with a Sonicboom!"

The attack went right through the Ice move, but it was left severely weakened. Zoe only took one pace back when the Sonicboom hit her. She shook herself and focused on Magnemite again.

"Weather Ball!"

Zoe ran forward, opened her jaws and shot a fireball right at Magnemite. Wattson's eyes widened as the Steel-type screeched loudly in pain.

"What the...How did...Oh. It's sunny outside. Well, let's see you handle _this_ little shock. Use Thunder Wave!"

Zoe was too close. "Dodge and repeat!"

The Snorunt moved aside and fired off another Weather Ball. It was another hit, and a forceful one. Carla winced at the sound Magnemite made; it sounded like a mangled scream mixed with scraping metal.

"Let's give 'em a Supersonic."

Carla's gut clenched as Magnemite sent out soundwaves at Zoe. As soon as they enveloped her, she started weaving from side to side in the exact way the redhead's Minun had.

"Now use Thunder Shock!" boomed Wattson.

The attack sent Zoe tumbling backwards. She staggered to her feet and shook tendrils of electricity off herself. Then she shook herself again.

"Hold on, Zoe; we can do this." Carla fought to stay calm. _Latias, please, help us win this!_

"Use Tackle, Magnemite!"

Magnemite moved forward quickly. All Carla could see was a silver blur, so she shouted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Weather Ball!"

There was a blast of flame, closely followed by the sound of metal scraping across the floor. Magnemite slowly came to a halt, its body charred and unresponsive. Carla held her breath as she watched it, and exhaled as Wattson withdrew his pokémon.

"Magnemite is unable to battle," called the referee. "The challenger wins the first round."

"You did great, Zoe," Carla said. "You can take a rest now." She recalled the Snorunt and pulled out Rakel's capsule. Wattson still had his Electrike and he wouldn't be able to use Volt Switch this time. Also, Electrike had taken damage and Rakel hadn't yet.

"Come out, Rakel!"

"Let's give them a shock, Electrike!"

When Wattson saw Rakel, his eyebrows seemed to rise halfway up his head. "You've got an interesting team there, missy! Let's see if this one puts up as good a fight as the last one. Thunder Shock!"

"Mean Look!"

Electrike froze to the spot, paralysed by Rakel's stare.

"Don't let it affect you, Electrike. Use Thunder Shock again."

Electrike snarled and let loose a bolt of electricity. It hit Rakel directly, causing her to drop a few inches. She rapidly recovered, and levitated higher into the air.

Then Carla had an idea. "Do what we did in Slateport."

She could almost see Rakel smirk before she disappeared. Electrike barked in astonishment, looking around him frantically.

"Fire off bolts everywhere until you..." Wattson began, but it was too late. Rakel appeared right next to Electrike and screamed into his face, making him flinch again and back away.

Carla didn't give him the chance to recover. "Use Psybeam!"

"Thunder Shock!" Wattson commanded.

As soon as he gave the order, Carla realised the two pokémon were too close to each other. The explosion made her briefly cover her eyes; when she lowered her hand, Rakel was still hovering, but Electrike was once again getting to his feet.

That was the third time Wattson had told Electrike to use Thunder Shock. Why did he keep using that one attack? Was it some kind of strategy, to try to get her to lower her guard?

Or maybe Electrike knew moves that didn't affect Rakel.

Either way, Carla wasn't taking any chances. "Psybeam again!"

Electrike tried to scrabble out the way, but he wasn't quick enough. He was blasted across the floor and landed on his side in a crumpled heap.

"Electrike is unable to battle!" announced the referee. "But I'm not entirely sure the unnamed attack is allowed."

Carla froze. She hadn't thought of that.

"I'm going to allow it," Watton said firmly. "Shows initiative and catches opponents off guard. But I wouldn't recommend using that tactic too often in Gym matches."

"Thank you," Carla said gratefully. "And well done, Rakel - you were awesome!"

Rakel smiled, as if to say: _Of course I was_.

Wattson was coming over. "You've earned this Dynamo badge, Carla. Congratulations." He dropped a small, shiny object into Carla's palm.

"Thank you."

"You stay level-headed in a battle," Wattson said. "That's good - means you won't lose your cool quickly! And you're not a bad strategist, either. That was a great battle, and I'm glad I had it before I go on holiday!"

"Oh? When do you leave?" Carla asked politely.

"In about..." Wattson checked his watch; Carla wasn't surprised to see its face was in the shape of a Pikachu. "...an hour. You're my last challenger of the day. I hope you and your team are going to have a little break too, Carla. Take it easy and enjoy Mauville."

"I will."

Carla walked back to the Gym doors, feeling as if she could fly.

* * *

It was the evening rush. The indoor streets of Mauville were bathed in a beautiful amber glow from the sunset outside. A couple of girls walked past Carla; their hair glimmered in the light as they talked and laughed together.

The euphoria had faded while Carla was waiting for Zoe to be healed, leaving a draining tiredness in its wake. Carla stifled a yawn as she walked back to the room she shared with Tally and inserted the key into the lock.

To her surprise, Bruno was already there.

"How'd it go?" he asked as Carla walked into the room. His face broke into a beaming smile as she grinned at him. "All right! Yes!"

"I knew you'd do it!" Tally cried. "Who did you use?"

"Zoe and Rakel. They both did brilliantly." Carla ran a hand through her hair. "I think I'll have a shower before we eat. I won't be long."

She walked over to her bag and pulled out her navy T-shirt before going into the bathroom and locking the door. She felt a little more refreshed after having a quick shower. Fortunately, the launderettes available in Mauville were much larger than the one in Dewford. Once she got dressed, she towelled her hair dry carefully and went back into the main room.

"Bruno and I have been thinking," Tally announced as Carla unzipped her bag, "and we've decided we don't want you paying for your food tonight."

Carla froze, her dark blue hoodie halfway out of her bag. "What?"

"You heard," Bruno said, his arms folded. "We're treating you. And we're not taking no for an answer."

Carla stood up. Something fell out of her bag and onto the floor, but she ignored it. "Well, if...if you put it like that...Thank you."

"You've earned it, after winning that Gym badge!"

"You dropped your scarf," Tally said, pointing to the floor.

"Oh yeah. Thanks." Carla put her hoodie on, picked up the small black scarf and stuffed it into her pocket.

The Food Court was always crowded in the evenings. Bruno found a small table tucked away from everywhere else, where they were able to release their teams so they could eat as well.

"What about Boing?" Carla asked.

"Oh, he's fine. I've already fed him," Tally said brightly. "What do you want to drink, Carla?"

"A bluk juice, please."

While Bruno and Tally went off to the food stalls, Carla released her team.

"We're doing really well," she told them. "I'm proud of all of you."

Tess tried to hide her face in her wings, and Zoe's mouth stretched into a happy smile. Rakel merely tilted her head to one side.

"Tonight, we can just relax and enjoy ourselves. Sound good?"

Immediately, Zoe and Tess started chasing each other around the foot of the bench. Carla watched them, feeling somewhat wistful. When was the last time she'd simply allowed them to play together? She needed to help her sister, but she'd heard stories about harsh, bullying taskmaster trainers and had no desire to become one herself.

"Why don't you join them, Rakel?" she asked.

Rakel raised her eyebrows.

"It might be fun."

The little Misdreavus seemed to think for a moment. Then she hovered down and inserted herself in the gap between Zoe and Tess. When Tess saw Rakel had entered the game, she cheeped happily and started to run even faster.

Carla smiled at the sight, but then leaned her elbows on the table and started to plan.

She needed to think about her next step. She had to send some of the prize money to Glennis, but also had to keep some for her team and herself. They would need food and medicine, but there might be other things they would need as well. Carla knew she'd done reasonably well so far with three pokémon, but she was aware that wasn't going to last long. If she wanted to be stronger as a trainer, she would have to add someone else to her team. That meant she would have to set even more money aside, but if it also meant challenging more trainers and winning more battles...

"Hey!" Bruno was back. He deposited a large box of pizza in the centre of the table. "Dinner is served."

"Thanks, Bruno. And...thank you for all the training with Frank. It really, really paid off."

"You're welcome. Maybe I should battle him next!"

"Actually, he's on holiday."

"What?" Bruno asked, frowning. "Since when?"

"Since this afternoon. I was his last challenger of the day."

"Wattson's on holiday?" Tally was back; she set three drinks on the table and sat down next to Carla. "Where's he going?"

"Probably Kalos or Alola." Carla could easily picture Wattson wearing a black and white Alolan shirt and lounging on a beach somewhere.

No, he wouldn't lounge at all. He didn't seem like the type to do that.

When the pizza box was empty, Carla looked up through the skylight to see the sunset had completely faded, leaving a dark night sky. There were even more people in the Food Court than before.

"Does this place ever close?" Bruno asked.

"I don't know." For some reason, Carla didn't want the evening to end just yet. "I think I might go for a walk."

"Can I join you?" Tally asked eagerly. "I'd love to see what Mauville looks like at night."

"Sure. What about you, Bruno?"

"Yeah, all right. I'll come too."

Most of the shops were closed, but there were still a lot of people milling about on the indoor streets. Mauville was still brightly lit, but Carla suspected the lights would start dimming soon. They wouldn't go out completely, though.

"How rich do you have to be to afford one of those bikes?" Bruno asked, pointing towards a shop that had two bikes on display in the window.

"Very," Carla replied. She looked around for side-streets and was surprised to see there weren't any. Wattson must have deliberately designed the city that way.

"Hey, um..." Tally's hands were in her pockets and she was looking at the ground, her black hair almost hiding her face. "Can I talk to you guys about something?"

"What is it?" asked Carla.

"I got a call from my mum today. She said..."

Everything went black. Carla stopped walking. Her breath caught in her throat. She'd gone completely blind. She couldn't see anything. Shocked cries echoed from all directions.

Mauville had been plunged into darkness.

**Thank you for reading so far!**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Start a War' by Jess and the Bandits.**


	9. 8: You're Out Real Quick

Chapter Eight: You're Out Real Quick

Carla's hand immediately flew to the pokéballs in her pocket. Her hand landed on one; it was Rakel's. She put a finger on the release button but didn't press it.

"What just happened?" Bruno asked. "What just _happened_?"

Carla kept her voice calm. "I think we just had a power cut."

"Oh, great."

Shrieks and cries were still floating on the air, then suddenly most of them went quiet.

"It's OK," Tally said. Her voice was trembling slightly. "There's a backup supply of energy; I think I read about it somewhere. It should go on soon."

Carla's eyes had now fully adjusted to the darkness. She wasn't sure why she was so uneasy, but they were standing by themselves in the middle of a dark street at night. They were exposed.

She noticed a shop doorway close by. "Come on. Let's sit over there." She walked towards it and set her back to the door before pressing the button on Rakel's capsule. The Misdreavus materialised next to her; immediately, the jewels around her neck started to glow dimly.

"Why do we have to sit back here?" asked Bruno as he lowered himself down to sit next to Carla. "We can just go back to our rooms, you know."

"No, we can't." That was Tally and she was whispering. "The doors won't respond to the card keys - and they can't open from the inside either. _Everything's_ electronic in Mauville City."

The trainer room doors weren't opened manually, but by pushing a button from the room itself. If there was no power, the doors would remain firmly locked.

"But that means everyone inside the rooms are locked _in_!" Now Bruno was whispering as well. There was a brief flash of blue and then Hazel's bulk was filling the shop doorway as well. "What about the Centre?"

"I guess they're trapped inside there as well..." Carla's voice trailed off as the implications hit her. If the power in the Centre wasn't working, the medical equipment wouldn't be either. But Wattson must have prepared for something like this. He wasn't an idiot.

"It shouldn't take this long to fix the power," she said. "Or for the backup supply to come on."

"It's supposed to go on automatically," Tally told her. All three trainers were whispering; their voices were like an Ekans softly slithering over grass.

"So why hasn't it?"

"I don't know. I just know it should have."

A chill swept over Carla. She fumbled in her bag until she found her phone. Pulling it out, she checked the screen.

The signal symbol was blank.

"Do you have signal?" Her whisper sounded far too loud. "Please tell me you've got signal."

Tally took out her phone and looked at it. "No, I don't."

"What's up?" Bruno asked. Hazel shuffled a little closer to him.

Carla stared out into the shadows of Mauville. "Mauville is where TrainNet is based. If Tally and I don't have signal, _nobody _linked to the network has a signal. Which means they can't call for help if they're in trouble."

"Oh. That's...that's not good."

"What about the doors that lead in and out of Mauville? Are they locked too?"

Before Carla could answer Tally's question, she saw a blaze of colour out of the corner of her left eye. She turned to see that Rakel's necklace was glowing a brilliant scarlet.

"Why is she doing that?" Tally asked in a hushed voice.

"She's feeding on someone's fear. But..."

Carla didn't remember Rakel's necklace glowing that brightly when she first met Tally, and it had only been glimmering faintly when she'd released her a few minutes ago. If it was that colour now, someone nearby must be absolutely terrified.

She crept out of the doorway, looking both ways. Rakel floated beside her.

"Shut up!" a voice hissed.

It came from the left, near the entrance to the street. Carla headed in that direction, heart pounding, hoping against hope she wasn't making a mistake.

"Please...please..."

"I said _shut up_. Hands behind your back."

A tall, black figure loomed over a smaller one, crowding it against the wall.

Shock and anger flooded Carla's body. "Mean Look."

The taller figure turned and was immediately frozen in Rakel's glare. The smaller one started fumbling at the man's jacket, trying to find something. There was a rush of air as something swooped over Carla's head; Hazel's wings flapped twice and the next moment the man was lying on the floor.

Carla ran up to the smaller figure. "Are you OK?"

With a sob, the girl scooped a pokéball out of the man's pocket and pressed it to her chest. "_Thank you_."

"Um, maybe we should..." Although Bruno was half-immersed in shadow, Carla could see something dangling from his left hand. It was a pair of cuffs. "He dropped these."

Yes, maybe they should.

Carla grabbed the man's wrists and held them behind his back while Bruno secured them. She looked up at Rakel and nodded, certain the Misdreavus could see her.

"Are you all right?" Tally asked the girl. "What happened?"

"He just grabbed me. I thought I'd got away, I didn't know he was there."

"Well, we can hide together before he wakes up..." Bruno began.

"Wait. Wait." Carla touched the girl's shoulder, alarm curdling her stomach. "What did you get away _from_?"

"The others." The girl looked around frantically.

"There's more of them?"

"Yes, they've got everybody trapped in the Food Court. Didn't you know?"

Carla stared at her. There were others. There was a whole group of them, and Mauville was under lockdown. _They'd shut down the entire city on purpose._

"What about the cops?" Bruno demanded. "Aren't they doing anything?"

"They can't. Someone said that's been taken care of."

The implications sank into Carla's heart like a stone.

Footsteps snapped her out of her fear. They were definitely coming in the direction of the small group.

"Let's go!" Tally whispered, darting to the side and into another shop doorway. The others followed her, flattening themselves against the door just as two shadowy forms walked down the street.

One of them stumbled over the sleeping man with a startled yelp; he landed heavily on the floor, as did something bulky and heavy. His partner cursed and went to help him up - and froze when he saw _two_ prone figures.

Carla saw their chance. There was no time to think. "Get them."

Rakel darted out and hovered over the standing man, her eyes glowing red again. The man who'd tripped scrabbled to his feet, but he was too slow. He went as still as a statue when Rakel turned her gaze to him as well.

Next moment, they had joined their companion in sleep. Hazel landed in front of them and ruffled her wings smugly.

"Rakel, is anyone else coming?" Carla asked.

The Misdreavus flew to the edge of the street and looked around. She glanced back and shook her head.

Carla hurried over and knelt next to the unconscious figures. Hypnosis had a different effect on humans than it did on pokémon; the three men would be out for at least half an hour. She touched the bag lying beside them and felt several hard, round objects inside.

"What's going on?" Tally whispered. "Who's _doing_ this?"

Carla had a very good idea as to who it was. "Team Scythe."

"What? But how do you know?"

"What's in the bags?" Bruno asked.

"Pokéballs. Lots of them." So where were all the trainers? Were they still in the Food Court?

She picked up a bag in each hand, wincing as her shoulders strained; they were a lot heavier than they looked. Bruno quickly took one from her. "Come on. We can't stay here."

"But there's nowhere we can go!"

Carla couldn't keep thinking of her as _the girl_. "What's your name?"

"Maia."

Carla looked down at the three sleeping men. At some point, they were going to wake up - or worse, someone would want to know why they hadn't shown up with the stolen pokéballs and come looking for them.

"Are all those trainers still in the Food Court?"

"I...I don't know. They might be."

A cold thought crept inside Carla's mind. Did the doors open electronically? If they did, nobody could get in or out - and that included Team Scythe. They weren't stupid. They were bound to have at least one pokémon that knew Teleport.

Her eye fell on the bags. If all the pokémon inside were released at the same time, it might cause a lot of confusion. And if the trainers were still at the Food Court...

"I have an idea," Carla whispered. "Rakel, keep checking if anyone's coming."

She started creeping along the street, keeping to the walls as much as she could.

"Carla, what are you doing?" Bruno asked behind her.

"I don't know." She reached up and touched her blue pendant.

_Latias, be with us tonight._

She could sense the others behind her as she moved. Her eyes darted from one shadow to another, expecting someone to emerge from the darkness. Rakel's necklace deepened and deepened in colour as they neared the Food Court; Carla wasn't sure if the Misdreavus was reacting to other people's fear or to hers.

They must have been closer to the Food Court than she'd remembered, because a dim glow could be seen around the corner. It could only have come from an Electric-type.

Carla stopped. Above her, Rakel paused and looked down.

There were bound to be other Scythe members guarding the trainers - if they hadn't moved them. And there was no way of telling which capsule had been stolen from which trainer, unless the pokémon inside were all released at the same time.

Which would cause a _lot_ of confusion.

Slowly, heart pounding in her throat, she lowered the bag to the floor and unzipped it as quietly as she could.

"Are we going to create a diversion?" Tally whispered.

Carla nodded, glad the other girl knew what she intended. Her face felt cold and exposed, so she pulled her hood up and took her scarf out of her pocket, tying it around the lower half of her face. It wouldn't do to be recognised by Scythe afterwards, even if they were in the dark.

She took three capsules out of the bag and enlargened them. One was almost uncomfortably warm and the other two tingled sharply against her fingers; it was as if they knew they were in the hands of someone other than their rightful trainer.

Carla raised them to her lips and whispered: "Go find your trainers." Then she hurled them into the light.

A Rapidash, Electrike and Magnemite appeared at the edge of the gloom. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a "What the..." and then a joyful shriek of "BLAZE!"

The Rapidash reared on his hind legs and screamed.

More capsules whizzed past Carla's head, releasing more pokémon. Soon the small street was crowded. Trainers in the Food Court were calling out to their pokémon frantically. Carla saw a Beautifly, a Sableye and a Nidoking rush forward and fully into the light, closely followed by others.

She grinned. It was working.

Then there was the sound of crashing, followed by screams of alarm. Cold fear shot through Carla and she rushed into the open. An Ampharos was struggling to hold its own against the Nidoking; the Rapidash - Blaze - stood protectively in front of a group of trainers, stamping his foot menacingly on the floor, swinging his head around at any possible attackers.

Figures dressed in dark clothing were struggling to hold off other pokémon, including the Sableye and Electrike.

"Hey!" Someone grabbed her arm. "Do you know what's going on? Where did they all come from? We all thought they'd..."

She couldn't see his face, but his eyes widened as he realised she wasn't with them. Then they narrowed into sharp blue slits and his grip on her arm tightened. She tried to pull free, but a purple and scarlet blur darted _through_ the man and he collapsed, panting and shivering. Something dropped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

Carla looked up at Rakel in amazement. "Thanks!"

Rakel grinned.

Quickly, Carla picked up the object the man had dropped and slipped it into her pocket. If he'd been going to use it on her, it could be useful to have. It was narrow and dark, with two prongs at the end. It looked like a taser.

Yes. She could use this.

Nearby, Hazel was working her Hypnosis on the black-clad figures. She was doing well, but it was obvious she was tiring. Just as Carla was frantically trying to figure out something to do, she saw a Dustox fluttering above the combatants, a silver powder drifting from its wings.

_Sleep Powder._

Carla was about to order Rakel to attack the Dustox, but then she noticed it wasn't just pokémon being targeted. The Scythe grunts were as well. She looked around wildly for the trainer.

"Hey. Hey!"

Her gaze whipped to the circle of trainers.

"Are you with us?" someone asked.

"Yes."

The boy looked up. "It's OK, Blaze, he's with us."

Blaze snorted. He glared warningly at Carla, but allowed her to rush up to the group of trainers and kneel in front of them. His trainer shuffled around so his bound hands were displayed.

Carla put down the bag and fumbled with the cuffs, squinting. The light from Blaze's flames helped her see a bit clearer - there was a tiny plastic ridge sticking out. Hoping her instincts were right, Carla pressed it and suppressed a yelp when the trainer eased the cuffs apart. As soon as his hands were free, he turned to the trainer sitting next to him.

"Hold it right there."

Everything went still. Carla hardly dared breathe. She turned around to see a dark figure holding Tally by her hair. He held a taser dangerously close to her throat.

Bruno. Maia. Where were they?

"Now," he said quietly, "we're gonna leave, and we're taking the bags. If any of you follow us, we'll..."

"You'll what, dude?" Blaze's trainer demanded, taking a step forward. "You're surrounded. Your buddies aren't getting up any time soon."

Carla glanced towards the man Rakel had floated through, but he lay quiet and still. The Sleep Powder must have affected him as well.

"And who are you?" Tally's captor forced her to move forward, his eyes fixed on Carla. "You're not one of us. Why don't you..."

Rakel screamed right into his ear. He dropped the taser and Tally yanked herself free, stumbling forward. He recovered quickly and tried to grab her again, but froze when Rakel hovered in front of him and Blaze stepped towards him, head lowered. His eyes darted between the two of them.

A roar of rage pierced the shadows. Carla looked in the direction the noise had come from, then back at the Scythe man, heart hammering. What was that? What could have made that sound?

It was only then that she noticed not every pokémon she and the others had released was here in the Food Court. The capsules in the bags couldn't _all_ have come from these trainers - there were too few of them. Where had the others come from?

_You told them to find their trainers._

"I need help!" The Scythe man had a hand pressed to one ear. "They're fighting back; I need help over here!"

Even more shouts were echoing in the distance - sharper ones. The man's eyes flickered in alarm.

Those shouts were human. There was a loud bellow that could only have come from Wattson.

Carla grinned. Help _was_ coming - and it wasn't there for Team Scythe.

She couldn't see the lower half of the man's face, but she knew he was snarling.

"Blaze, use Flamethrower!" the Rapidash trainer yelled. Blaze shot a jet of fire towards the man, who swerved aside. The attack hit the Nidoking right in the chest; he stumbled backwards, bellowing in outrage. Immediately, the man saw his chance and raced back towards the street, dodging a swipe from the Nidoking's claws.

Then he skidded to a halt and darted towards another, smaller figure and snatched something from its hands.

"HEY!" Carla shouted and raced after him. She had just reached the end of the street and was about to turn the corner after him when Rakel swooped in front of her like a vengeful spirit and stayed there, hovering in mid-air, her eyes and jewels dimly glowing.

The outrage inside Carla slowly drained away, leaving behind cold sense. She couldn't do this. She was alone; all she had was Zoe, Tess, Rakel and a taser. If there were other members of Team Scythe lurking in the shadows, she would not stand a chance.

The voices were getting closer. Carla was still wearing her scarf - if someone in Team Scythe thought she was with them, what if the police did too?

She took her hood down and tried to untie her scarf, but her fingers were shaking too badly. Growling with frustration, she pulled the entire thing over her head and shoved it back in her pocket. She and Rakel needed to get away from here quickly. Where were the others?

_Get out of the street before the power comes on._

Carla took out Rakel's empty pokéball. "You did great, Rakel. Return."

Lights came on in the nearby buildings. Instinctively, Carla flattened herself against the wall. Almost immediately afterwards, doors slid open and people were rushing into the street, towards the Food Court. Carla seized her chance and joined them, hoping she hadn't been seen. As they moved, light flickered on dimly overhead.

A flood of people was pouring into the Court from all directions. Carla spotted dark blue police uniforms among the civilians. She looked around frantically until her eyes fell on Bruno and Tally.

"Everyone stay calm!" someone was shouting in the distance.

Carla squeezed her way through the thickening crowd until she was standing next to her friends.

"Did you get him?" Bruno asked. The hope in his eyes faded when he saw the look on Carla's face.

Suddenly there was a loud bellow of "ENOUGH!", causing everyone to go silent. Wattson stood on a table, glowering at the crowd.

"All trainers are to go back to their rooms _immediately_," he commanded. "If your pokémon has been stolen, gather round these tables here."

"What happened?" a girl shouted. "Was that Team Scythe?"

Her voice was joined by several others. Wattson clapped his hands twice and the shouts died down.

"One of them grabbed a bag and ran down there!" someone in the crowd yelled. "You gotta get after them!"

"He just snatched it." Bruno mumbled, his voice heavy with self-blame. He was staring at the ground. "I froze, and that guy just grabbed it out of my hands."

Carla shook her head. "It's not your fault."

She knew she would never forgive herself for letting the man go.

**You might have noticed that Rakel has had more focus than the other members of Carla's team. Well…there's a reason for that.**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Tough' by Kellie Pickler.**


	10. 9: Feast On The Stars In The Sky

Chapter Nine: Feast On The Stars In The Sky

"Hey." The voice was muffled by the door. "Anyone there?"

"Yeah. Come on in."

The door opened, revealing a rumpled-looking Bruno. There was dark shadows under his eyes. He smiled awkwardly and asked: "Can I stay here for a bit? I feel a bit awkward talking to my roommate."

"That's fine." Carla was slumped on her bed, eyes glazed from watching the news. Tess and Zoe sat on the bed beside her, with Rakel hovering close above them. "Tally's giving Boing some exercise; I don't know when she'll be back."

Bruno tentatively sat down on Tally's bed. "Are we...are we gonna get in trouble?"

"For what?"

"You know. For using attacks on those Scythe goons."

"No," Carla said firmly. "We gave those orders to protect ourselves, our teams and other people. We shouldn't get in trouble for that."

Tess cheeped and nestled into Carla's side. Carla instinctively put a tender arm around the warm, fluffy little body. The Vullaby was surprisingly subdued since learning about the events of the previous night.

"Reckon he'll agree with that?" Bruno pointed at the screen, where a man in police uniform was giving a statement to the cameras.

"I'm more worried about Team Scythe."

Bruno was silent. Carla glanced towards Rakel. Bruno had recognised the Misdreavus after seeing her once; if he could, anyone could.

Team Scythe couldn't find out who they were.

Carla needed to move on as soon as possible. They'd stayed in Mauville long enough.

"Are you gonna tell your parents about this?"

"I don't know." Carla couldn't decide whether or not to tell her family. They didn't need to know - but if her father did find out she was in Mauville at the time of the blackout and she'd kept it from him, there could be problems. "Are you?"

Bruno shook his head. He took out his phone and checked it before stuffing it back into his pocket with a sigh.

Carla shifted around to look at him properly. "What is it?"

"I don't know if my dad's friend is still coming. I want to text and ask, but it doesn't feel right, not after..." He shrugged helplessly.

"Does this mean you're going to stay in Mauville?"

Bruno nodded. "Think so, yeah. Don't want to be crushed in the mass exit!"

Police were still taking witness statements, and they wanted to make sure nobody in Team Scythe was still in the city. Carla understood why. Everything had been planned to the perfect detail, including Wattson's absence.

"I'm here with Barnabas Reed, founder of the Pokémon and Trainer Protection League." Gabby Galloway was on the screen now, her short brown hair and trademark pink lipstick as immaculate as they always were. Beside her was a man wearing a black suit with a blue tie. "Mr Reed, is it your opinion that this is indeed the work of Team Scythe?"

"Oh, I have no doubt it is." With his greying hair and warm blue eyes, Barnabas Reed looked like he could be someone's kindly uncle. "Which is why both the PTPL and the Pokémon League will be treating the attack with the severity it deserves."

"Is it true that licenced bounty hunters have been given a free hand when it comes to dealing with members of Team Scythe?"

"A free hand?" Bruno said. "What does _that_ mean?"

Carla had no idea what it meant either, but she didn't care. If that was what it took to get rid of Team Scythe, it was fine with her.

"What about the pokémon rampaging around the city?"

Both Carla and Bruno tensed, their eyes fixed on Mr Reed. Zoe edged a little closer to her trainer.

"Any damage they caused was done in defence of their trainers. They may have been intended to serve as a diversion; if that _is _the case, the individual who came up with the idea clearly did not think it through as well as he could have." Mr Reed's expression was one of disapproval.

Carla didn't blame him. She _hadn't_ thought that through, but it had seemed like the best idea at the time. And she was glad nobody was hurt. She relaxed a little, soothed by the chill emanating from her Snorunt.

Then she remembered the taser. She reached past Tess and down to where her bag lay. Pulling out her hoodie, she fumbled around until she found the item in one of the pockets.

"What is that?" Bruno asked.

"It's the taser from last night." Carla studied it closely, lowering it so Tess and Zoe could have a look as well. Her fingers brushed against a symbol in the shape of a lightning bolt; she opened a small compartment to reveal what looked like a silver charging area. This meant the taser didn't use batteries; instead, it was meant to be charged by an Electric-type.

She glanced at the clock on the table beside her bed. Tally had been gone for over an hour now. Carla wanted to go and see if she was all right, but she couldn't leave Bruno by himself when he wanted company that wasn't his roommate.

Tally solved that dilemma by opening the door and stepping inside.

"Hey!" Bruno shifted along so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "How's Boing?"

"He's fine," Tally said flatly. She didn't come to sit next to Bruno and Carla. Instead, she stayed in front of the door, twisting her fingers together.

"Are you OK?" Bruno asked, frowning.

Tally took a deep breath and brushed her hair away from her face. "I just had a call from my parents. The nanab berries are nearly ripe and they need someone else to help because one of their volunteers isn't feeling well...so they've asked me to come back for a bit."

"But they are gonna let you leave again, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, they are," Tally said quickly. "I asked if I could leave as soon as the harvest was done, but they're not...They know what's happened here and..." Her voice trailed off and she looked away, down at the floor.

"When are you going?" Carla tried to sound casual, but couldn't.

"Tomorrow morning. They're sending a teleporter at nine."

There was an uncomfortable silence, which was broken by Bruno's phone ringing loudly. He glanced at the screen and said: "Hold on, I gotta take this. It's him." He turned to the wall and answered the phone.

Carla got up and walked over to where Tally was standing.

"What are you going to do?" Tally asked quietly. "Are you going to stay in Mauville?"

For one moment, Carla felt the urge to ask if they needed more helpers. The harvest would be finished quicker if there were more workers. Then an image of her sister flashed into her mind, and the urge vanished. "I don't know yet."

Where was a place that lots of trainers would go?

"I might go to Lavaridge," she said. If she wandered around on the routes between Mauville and Lavaridge and battled as many trainers as she could, she would get lots of money in no time.

_After_ she'd caught a new teammate.

"We can always exchange numbers," Tally said with forced brightness. "I'd like to keep in touch - and maybe meet up again."

She looked so hopeful, Carla couldn't find it in her to refuse. "Let's do that. I will miss you, though."

"I'll miss you, too."

"All right," Bruno said. Carla nearly jumped; she hadn't known the call was over. "If this is gonna be our last night all together in Mauville, we are _not_ going to spend it being miserable. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Tally asked as Bruno put his jacket on.

"We're going to eat out tonight."

* * *

"You guys having a takeaway?"

Carla glanced over her shoulder. There were two guards outside the doors now. "Yes."

"Be careful," the one who had spoken told her. "The Electrike around here are opportunists; they'll steal food from trainers if they get the chance."

Electrike. Those were the pokémon that evolved into Manectric - Wattson was famed for having a powerful one. It would be a long time before Zoe evolved, and even longer for Tess; Rakel wouldn't evolve at all unless Carla found a dusk stone. She needed something to give her team a boost.

"Could you wait for a moment?" Carla asked Bruno and Tally.

"Sure."

Carla walked up to the guards, her feet swishing in the grass. "Do you know a lot about Electrike and Manectric?"

"They're good pokémon to have on your team, and I'm not just saying that because Wattson's got one."

"Yeah, and you aren't saying that because _you've_ got one or anything," the other guard said.

The first guard smiled slightly.

"How strong are they?" Carla pressed.

"If you raise one right, it can take on an Arcanine. Just to let you know, the Electrike on the road west of Mauville are stronger than the ones on the south route."

"Thank you." Carla turned and walked back towards the others.

"Have a good time!" the guard called after her. Carla glanced back at him with a smile.

"What were you talking about?" Bruno asked when she rejoined them.

"Electrike. I'm going to see if I can get one."

"That's the Hoenn equivalent of a Growlithe, right?"

"I thought that was Poochyena?" Tally's forehead was scrunched up in a frown.

"No," Carla told her decisively. "Electrike and Manectric are supposed to be stronger than Poochyena and Mightyena. Besides, over half the people in Teams Magma and Aqua had one of the Dark hound line. Can you imagine someone in Team Aqua having an Electric-type?"

"Over there looks good." Bruno pointed towards a patch of short grass close to a dip in the wall, which would afford them a perfect view of the water.

Sitting down to eat outside felt like a return to normality. With all their pokémon clustered around them, Carla felt as if they could come to no harm out here by the water. She made a mental note to light a candle to Latias at Mauville's chapel - if they had one.

"I'm glad we met each other," Tally said suddenly.

"So am I." Carla didn't take her eyes off the water's surface as it rippled gently under a cool breeze.

"Me too. The blackout night was..." Bruno hesitated. "Nobody wanted that."

While they were talking, the sky above them had slowly turned from deep amber to dark blue. Tiny darts of light appeared in the velvet sky.

"They look like jewels," Tally murmured.

Zoe leaned against Carla's right side. Carla smiled down at her. "My sister would love this."

"You know," Bruno remarked, "you don't really talk about your family."

Carla's shoulders stiffened.

"All you've said is your dad works in a museum."

Carla was severely tempted to brush him off, or to change the subject entirely. But this might be the last night they would all spend together. What harm would the truth do?

"Mum came from Ringtown. Dad's father moved to Hoenn from Lumiose City; my sister is called Glennis and she's three years older than me."

"Wait." Now Bruno was staring at her. "Did you say your mum's from Ringtown?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that in Fiore?"

"Yes," Carla repeated.

"Your mum's from Fiore?" Tally cried. "That's amazing! What's it like over there?"

"She never talked about it." Carla reached over to scratch the top of Tess' head. "We've never been there."

"How come? Are you saying you haven't even met your grandparents in Fiore?"

Carla took a deep breath. "You know all those rumours about Fiore and Almia hating outsiders? They're not exaggerated. Mum's parents really weren't keen on her leaving the country, but she left anyway and that was the last time she saw them."

They hadn't come to the funeral - but nobody had expected them to be there. Carla wondered if she should be upset about that.

"But that doesn't matter," she said. "We've got a family; that's all we need."

"Is your sister a trainer too?"

Carla smiled, grateful that Tally had changed the subject. "No. She wants to be a personal stylist." Since Glennis wanted a career that didn't revolve around pokémon, she could afford to start planning her future a little later than someone who wanted to be a trainer or a coordinator.

"Where are you going to go once you've had your meeting, Bruno?" Carla asked casually.

Bruno scratched Frank behind his ears; the Luxio closed his eyes and uttered a strange purring growl. "I don't know. Guess I'll just keep wandering around."

"Speaking of wandering around...Carla, I want you to have these."

Carla couldn't speak. Tally was holding out her berry knife, flask and bottle of emulsifier. "I...but..."

"I think you're going to need them more than me," Tally said firmly. She continued to hold out the items.

Judging from the way Treble was glaring, 'no' wasn't an acceptable answer.

Carla took the items from Tally, careful not to drop any of them. "Thank you."

"Remember, don't use too much emulsifier. Just two drops will do," Tally warned.

Bruno tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. "It's good to be outside like this. My parents like to eat on the beack when the sun's setting - but we have to keep away from one part of the beach. _That_ belongs to a Kingler, and he doesn't like intruders!"

"Well, maybe you could introduce him to Frank when you get home!" Tally said with a playful smile.

Bruno shook his head. "Nah, I wouldn't do that. He's kind of Floe Island's mascot now."

"Should we exchange numbers now," Carla said suddenly, "before we forget?"

"Good idea."

Tally sighed and flopped back on the grass, nearly flattening her Spoink in the process. "Sorry, Glossie." She sighed deeply. "I don't want tonight to end."

"Then let's enjoy it while it lasts," Carla replied. "We've only got a few more hours together. Let's make the most of them."

Something light and cool nestled into her left side. She glanced down and saw Rakel's scarlet eyes looking back at her.

* * *

Once again, Carla was travelling alone. She almost expected to find herself walking between Tally and Bruno. How long would it take her to stop missing them?

No. She couldn't dwell on things like this. They'd keep in touch, and hopefully see each other again. Besides, for the first time since leaving home, Carla had a plan: capture an Electrike, then travel towards Lavaridge, train hard and battle as many trainers as possible.

Unfortunately, she forgot that plans don't always work. Sometimes, all it takes is one mistake.

She frowned in confusion at the large expanse of sand in front of her. Beyond it, a stretch of water divided the route in half. Carla groaned and closed her eyes.

The guard had told her about the west exit from Mauville. She'd used the _east_ exit.

Luckily, she hadn't gone too far and it wouldn't take long to rectify her mistake. She had just turned around and started walking back towards the gates when something rustled in a nearby tree. Carla froze, half-expecting a Taillow to fly out of the leaves.

A blue-and-white blur darted down from the tree and right in front of Carla. She kept completely still as it stopped and looked at her.

Judging from the circles on its cheeks, it was definitely Electric. And there was something about the way it was watching her. It blinked twice, but it didn't take its eyes off her. Its ears and long tail twitched and it tilted its head to one side, just like Tess.

Carla had no idea what species it was. It didn't look like it was particularly powerful and she had been hoping for a significant power boost. And yet, the more she stared at the tiny creature, the more she liked it.

She took out Zoe's pokéball. Time to see what this pokémon was made of.

"Come out, Zoe!"

The minute the Snorunt materialised, the little pokémon flicked its ears and lowered its head, fixing its gaze on Zoe.

"Confuse it with a Double Team!"

Zoe's form blurred into eight identical copies. Immediately, the pokémon fired off a Swift attack at all the duplicates, hitting them squarely in the face. Zoe growled and staggered backwards, shaking herself. All her copies faded away.

The pokémon moved, darting forward so quickly Carla didn't have time to call out an attack. It slammed into Zoe, sending her tumbling to the ground. She quickly got to her feet and narrowed her eyes at the pokémon.

"Weather Ball!"

Zoe shot a fireball towards the pokémon, but it swerved quickly to one side.

"Icy Wind!" shouted Carla. This time, the pokémon wasn't so lucky. It squealed loudly as it rolled to one side, but stood up again, shaking the ice crystals from its fur.

"Use Double Team again - in a _wider_ circle!"

As soon as the duplicates had surrounded the pokémon, Carla commanded: "Use Weather Ball again!"

This time, the fireball hit the little pokémon from behind. It squealed again, but immediately whirled around and focused its attention on Zoe. Now it knew exactly who to aim at.

Meanwhile, Carla had taken advantage of the battle to stealthily take a pokéball out of her bag. As the pokémon rushed forward, she shouted: "Headbutt, Zoe!"

They collided with each other. The strange pokémon seemed more dazed than Zoe; it staggered around, shaking its head repeatedly. Carla seized her chance. She hurled the pokéball at it; the capsule engulfed the creature and snapped shut before rocking fiercely on the ground.

Carla and Zoe watched it.

Then the pokémon sprang out of the capsule, leaving a useless metal husk behind. Carla bit back a growl. This one wasn't getting away.

The pokémon braced itself, planting its paws firmly in the dirt. Carla recognised the move as Endure. This could make things easier for her.

"Use Weather Ball again."

It didn't recover from the damage so quickly this time. The Endure had preserved some of its strength - just enough to take the Weather Ball without fainting.

Carla threw a second pokéball at it. She clenched her fists and held her breath as the pokéball rocked from side to side again...and relaxed when it went still.

"Well done, Zoe. You were brilliant." Carla caressed the top of Zoe's cone, then knelt beside the occupied pokéball. "Let's see." She took out her pokédex, picked up the capsule and scanned it.

**Species:**** Pachirisu**

**Gender:**** Female**

**Moveset:**** Spark, Quick Attack, Endure, Swift**

Carla frowned. _Pachirisu_. She wasn't familiar with that species. They weren't far away from Mauville; it wouldn't take long to go back, heal her team and look up Pachirisu on the database.

* * *

Two hours later, Carla flopped down on a patch of grass and leaned back against a tree. Her feet ached; had she really grown acclimatised to city life so quickly?

A quick search on the database had revealed that Pachirisu originated in Sinnoh, and that they didn't evolve. That was fine; it wouldn't do to become completely dependent on one pokémon, and Carla might well have done just that if she'd captured an Electrike.

One thing she'd noticed was that Pachirisu didn't use normal Electric attacks, like Thundershock or Thunderbolt. They would learn Thunder Wave and Nuzzle, but they would also gain the moves Electro Ball and Discharge. And anyone battling a Pachirisu had better watch out for its teeth.

Now they were back out in the wild, it was time to meet her properly. Carla got to her knees, took out the right pokéball and tossed it into the air.

The Pachirisu appeared lightly on the grass. She blinked up at Carla curiously, head cocked to one side.

"Hi. I'm Carla; I'm your new trainer. It's nice to meet you." Carla wondered if introducing herself to a new team member would ever get any easier - or less awkward. She slowly held out a hand; the Pachirisu came forward to sniff at it.

"You're going to need a name." Now she was repeating what she'd said to Rakel when they'd first met. Like Rakel, the Pachirisu needed a name that could be called out swiftly in battle. "What about...Nixie?"

All she got in response was an ear twitch.

"Does that mean you like it?"

The Pachirisu chittered loudly in reply. She didn't sound upset or indignant, so Carla decided that was a 'yes'.

"I'm going to be the best trainer I can be for you," Carla said solemnly to Nixie. "You're going to get a lot stronger - but we both need to do the work. Are you up for that?"

Nixie nodded rapidly.

"Good. Because someone needs us to be strong. And we have a _lot_ of training to do."

**I did say Carla's next pokémon might not be what you were expecting. She may have wanted a large power boost, but Nixie is exactly what her team needs.**

**Fun fact: the guard who tells Carla about Electrike/Manectric? I imagine him as being played by Ben McKenzie. No idea why!**

**Thank you for reading so far!**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Don't Stop' by Oasis.**


	11. 10: Greener Grass On Down The Road

Chapter Ten: Greener Grass On Down The Road

Carla dangled her feet over the ledge and surveyed the scene before her. She could taste ash every time she breathed in.

That trainer had been a tough one. His Hariyama was very well trained; Nixie had barely managed to take it down, and that was only because it was slower than her.

They couldn't go any further up the Jagged Pass, so Carla had decided to rest by herself for a while before venturing downwards. She had thought briefly about letting her team out to join her, but it wasn't a good idea for an Ice-type to be so close to a volcano.

Nixie had recently mastered Electro Ball and her accuracy was improving, along with Zoe's. Tess' endurance when it came to Electric attacks was growing, as was Rakel's. Tally's preserver and medicine bottle had come in handy more times than Carla could count, but now they were in trouble. They needed to get to a Centre soon.

Someone was walking past on the ground. He paused, glanced upwards at Carla and began to retrace his steps. Carla stifled a groan and prepared herself for another battle. She'd amassed quite a bit of money from challenging trainers, but she'd been practicing with her team all day and everyone was exhausted.

Before long, he was standing on the ledge beside her. He clutched the straps of his black rucksack awkwardly.

"Hey. Um, this is really awkward, but I think I'm kind of lost. Do you have any idea where we are?"

Carla shook her head. "I think I might be lost as well."

"Oh." He scratched his head, making his light brown hair stick up a little. "I'm Dave. Dave Ronan."

"Carla Saverre." She shuffled backwards and twisted around, placing one foot on the rim of the ledge.

"Here." Dave reached down with one hand; Carla grasped it and allowed him to help her up.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome. Hey, look, I'm going to get a lift to Verdanturf. Do you want to come too?"

Carla frowned. "A lift?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna call a teleporter."

Carla thought for a moment. Verdanturf wasn't where she'd originally planned on going, but it was rumoured to be quiet and peaceful, and her team could do with a rest after all the training they'd done.

Besides, Verdanturf had a Centre and Carla couldn't afford to be choosy.

"I'd love to. Thank you."

Dave took a phone from the pocket of his blue jacket, pressed a few buttons and held it to his ear. He waited a few seconds before saying: "Hey, Luka, it's Dave. Could you do me a favour? We're up on the Jagged Pass; could you and Greenlea give us a lift to Verdanturf? ...No, we're not that far up... Yeah, there's someone else with me... We'll meet you there... Come on, when have I ever said that?" He laughed. "See you in a moment."

He hung up and turned to Carla. "He'll meet us down there," he said, pointing at the ground below.

"Shouldn't we wait up here anyway, in case they teleport on top of us?" Carla asked.

"Oh. I didn't think of that."

Seconds later, a figure in black appeared in the middle of the path, a Gardevoir at his side. Carla followed Dave down the Pass and went to meet him.

"Hey," Dave said. "Thanks so much for doing this."

"It's not a problem, Dave. Don't get used to it, though," Luka said warningly, but Carla thought she saw a twinkle in his eye. "The whole point of a journey is that you actually do the travelling yourself_._"

"Yeah, I know. I just...went down the wrong route."

"All right," Luka said, "if you both come over here, we'll get this done quickly." When Carla and Dave went to stand on either side of him, he put a hand on Dave's left shoulder and Carla's right and said: "Verdanturf Centre, Greenlea."

Remembering Bobby's advice from the last time, Carla closed her eyes and mouth. The invisible fist punched her in the ribs; she gasped and opened her eyes to see a picture brought to life.

Verdanturf Town was almost completely surrounded by trees. The breeze was light, with a sweet, clean scent. All around them were thatched cottages, each one with a brightly-coloured door. The only modern buildings Carla could see were the Centre and the Contest Hall.

It was beautiful.

"That route there," Luka said, pointing at a long, well-worn grassy path that led out of town, "will get you to Mauville. If you want to go back to Rustboro, you can take a short cut through Rusturf Tunnel."

"Thanks, Luka," Dave repeated. "I appreciate it."

"See you around, Dave." With a single nod to Carla, Luke turned to his Gardevoir and said: "Greenlea, let's go."

Greenlea blinked, and they were gone.

* * *

It was so good to wear clean clothes again.

Carla flopped back onto her bed and stared at the pale pink ceiling above her. One of the upsides of travelling alone was that she and her team had a room all to themselves. It was nice travelling with Bruno and Tally, but at the moment Zoe, Tess, Rakel and Nixie were all the company Carla needed.

While her team was engrossed in a cartoon, Carla carefully counted out the money she'd won since leaving Mauville. She was pleased to see she'd amassed more than she thought she had. There were two piles on the bed: one for herself and her team, the other for Glennis.

Once the money was shared out, Carla picked up her notebook and pen to write down the amount she was sending to her sister. But before she could write anything, she hesitated. Her eyes flickered towards the four small creatures in front of the TV, then back towards the 'keep' pile.

It wouldn't be enough - not now that she had four to look after.

Sighing, Carla took some notes from the top of Glennis' pile and put them in the 'keep' one.

After the cartoon was finished, Carla returned her team and put her fleece and trainers on. A place like Verdanturf must have at least one berry tree nearby. There weren't any in the town itself. Carla had wandered around the place in search of one while waiting for her laundry to dry.

Verdanturf was a quiet town - not sleepy like Oldale, but calm and peaceful. Just being there made her feel lighter somehow.

She wished she could stay longer.

The nurse at the main desk smiled when she saw Carla approaching. "Good afternoon! How can I help you?"

"Do you know if there are any berry trees around?"

"There are. Just follow the road out of Verdantuf and eventually you'll find some. But if it's the Contests you're here for, I'm afraid you've missed them by a few days."

"Oh, I'm not here for Contests," Carla said, pushing away a twinge of wistfulness. "Thank you." She was about to turn away when a thought struck here. "How often do you hold Contests here?"

"About once a month. Sometimes we hold them twice a month, but that doesn't happen often. Most coordinators go to Slateport and Lilycove to compete; when there are Contests here and Fallarbor, we send out information in advance and book them on a 'first come, first served' basis." The nurse smiled. "I love to go and watch them. Have you ever seen a Contest live?"

"No. Never. But if I do, I'll try here first."

With one last smile, Carla turned and walked out of the Centre. She looked around for the route to Mauville and headed in that direction. As she walked, the breeze playfully blew her hair back. Her gaze kept wandering to the trees on either side of the path, and at the windflowers growing around their roots.

She had the strangest feeling that she'd forgotten something, but that wasn't possible. She'd made sure she had everything she needed before leaving the Centre, and she was going back there as soon as she'd collected the berries.

Someone was walking ahead of her. The figure turned his head and saw her, then stopped and waited. It was Dave.

She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen him.

"Hi!" he said when she caught up with him.

"Hi," she replied with a polite smile.

"Are you from Kalos, by any chance? Sorry, it's just that your surname..." He trailed off awkwardly.

"My grandfather was from Lumiose." She was surprised he'd even remembered what her last name was.

"Is that the one that's twinned with Mauville? Wow, that's awesome! Are you going to Mauville now?"

Carla shook her head. "I just came out here to get some berries. You?"

"I want to catch a Volbeat. I've wanted one for ages, and I know they're in the area. What have you got on your team?"

She took a deep breath. "Snorunt, Vullaby, Misdreavus, Pachirisu. What do you have?"

"Wow, that's a pretty unique team! I've only got Marshtomp, Swellow, Nuzleaf and Loudred on my team at the moment. I do have others, but I'm trying to think of the best combination to challenge Norman."

"How many badges do you have?" Carla asked, curious.

"Four. I really want to get this one, because if we win, that'll get us up to the next level." When he saw Carla's confused frown, he said: "Getting five badges means they start taking you seriously. It means you might actually have potential to become Champion."

Carla hadn't known that.

"Do you have any badges?" asked Dave.

"Just two." Carla was torn between giving Dave advice about battling Norman and allowing him to figure it out for himself. If he _was_ serious about becoming Champion, he couldn't rely on other people all the time.

After a brief struggle, the nicer part of her won.

"You know how a Gym is designed to fit the type the Leader uses?"

"Yeah."

"Norman's Gym doesn't have any special furnishings. It's just him and you." A thought hit her. "You said you had a Marshtomp."

Dave nodded.

"The Gym floor is slippery when wet."

"What do you...oh. _Oh_." Dave's eyes widened and he grinned. "That is a great idea. Thanks, Carla."

"You're welcome." Carla spotted a clump of trees to her right. All of them had coloured fruit hanging from their branches. "Do _you_ want any berries?" she asked.

"That'd be great. I'll meet you back here."

Carla veered off towards the trees. She took out the small bag she used to hold berries and walked to the foot of the nearest one, which happened to be a sitrus. She made a mental note to come back after making some medicine, as some of the other berries here were very nutritious and could sustain both trainer and pokémon when food was scarce.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Smiling to herself, she pulled out Nixie's pokéball and released her.

"Want to have some fun, Nixie?"

The Pachirisu nodded, cheeks sparking.

"Could you climb up this tree and bite off some berries for me?"

Nixie darted up the trunk and along the bottom of a thick branch, gripping it with her tiny claws. She nibbled at the stem of a berry until it came loose and dropped into Carla's waiting hands. When Carla had three, she said: "That's great! Can you do some from the figy next to it?"

With a running jump, Nixie leapt from one canopy of leaves to the next. Carla hurried to stand under the tree, keeping an eye on the Pachirisu as she chewed a berry free and allowed it to fall. It landed in the grass to Carla's left; she knelt to pick it up.

The next one hit her squarely on the head.

"Ow!"

Above her, Nixie chittered sharply.

"I'm OK." Carla rubbed the top of her head before picking up the offending fruit and putting it in her bag.

It was only after Nixie had harvested three berries from the next tree that Carla realised the bag was very nearly full. "Thanks, Nixie! That's enough for now. Come back down, please."

The Pachirisu ran down the trunk - and froze halfway down. She was staring at something behind Carla's left shoulder. Her tail twitched.

"Hey there."

Carla turned around. A man in a dark green jacket stood a little way behind her. He was startlingly handsome, with short brown hair and a powerful build. As he came closer, Carla saw his eyes were a light shade of green.

"Sorry to disturb you," he said, "but perhaps you could help me out here." He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a photograph. "I'm looking for this trainer. His name's Randall Shaw; do you know him at all?"

Carla took the photo - and felt a jolt go through her. It was of the redhaired boy from Mauville, the one who had battled Tally for a table at the Food Court. She was about to open her mouth and say yes, she had seen him, but something in the stranger's eyes made her hesitate.

They were slightly narrowed. Watchful. Calculating.

She shook her head and handed the photo back. "Sorry. I don't know him."

"You sure? Maybe you battled him or something."

"I've battled a lot of trainers. I don't even remember _half_ of them."

"All right, if you're sure." He smiled, but the look in his eyes didn't change. "Look after yourself."

Carla watched as he walked away, unable to shake a twinge of unease. When he was out of sight, she looked back at Nixie and saw the Pachirisu hadn't moved an inch.

"Come on," she said, reaching out and picking her up. Nixie wriggled free and ran onto her shoulder.

That man had _known_ she was lying.

"Hi!" Dave came jogging up to them, holding a pokéball in one hand. "I got one. He did not want to go down easily, but he was no match for...oh, hey there, little guy!" His face brightened as he saw Nixie.

"She's a girl," Carla told him. "Her name's Nixie."

"Can I meet the rest of your team?"

"Sure, if you want." Carla released the rest of her team. "This is Zoe, Tess and Rakel. Girls, this is Dave."

"Great to meet you guys! Sorry - girls." In turn, Dave took out four other pokéballs and threw them into the air along with the one containing the Volbeat. They appeared just in front of him. "Shiran's the Marshtomp, Marta's the Nuzleaf, Polly's the Swellow, Erasmus is the Loudred and Drummer is the Volbeat."

Dave turned to his team. "Polly, Erasmus, Marta, meet Drummer. He's the new guy."

* * *

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the canteen is?"

The nurse nodded. "It's just down there. Since it's so quiet this evening, you can have your pokémon out if they're not too large and if they behave themselves."

There were very few people seated in the canteen. Carla helped herself to some pasta and tamato sauce, put some pokémon pellets into four bowls and balanced them carefully on a single tray.

"Hey, Carla! Over here!"

Dave was waving from a nearby table. He had all of his team out; they were eating from bowls the same size as the ones Carla held. Sitting opposite him was a tall blonde with purple streaks in her hair. Like Dave, she had chosen to release her team: a Sableye, an Umbreon, an Absol, a Liepard and a small blue bird with a yellow chest.

Once Carla's team was out, that made fourteen pokémon around the table. Luckily, they didn't take up much space.

"This is Ronnie," Dave said, gesturing to the blonde. "She's a Dark-type specialist."

"Like it wasn't obvious?" Ronnie nodded towards Tess. "That's a cute Vullaby."

"Thanks."

"I'd ask if you wanted to trade, but I've already got Seren and I don't really have a pokémon to trade _with_, so..." Ronnie shrugged and stabbed at her pasta. Her fingernails were painted a deep purple.

"Even if you did ask, I'd still say no," Carla told her matter-of-factly. She thought she saw a tiny smile on the older girl's face.

"Where'd you find Seren?" Dave asked. "I don't think I know the species."

"She's a Rookidee; they're from Galar. My uncle thought the line's final form was part-Dark instead of Steel." Ronnie grinned and mouthed _Oops_. "But I don't mind. In fact, I really like her. Her final form is going to be awesome." She raised her eyebrows at Carla. "You are _not_ going to have it easy when it comes to evolution, are you?"

The words weren't said in a mocking tone, but they still stung a little. A trainer would normally have at least two evolutions at this stage in their journey.

Carla shrugged. "That's not a problem. It just means they'll be stronger when they _do_ evolve. And even if they don't evolve, it won't make a difference."

"Well, you're confident, aren't you?" Ronnie smiled slowly. "I like that."

"So where are you from?" Carla asked, spearing a twirl of pasta.

"Here. I went on a journey but I had to quit a year ago, so we're back with my parents."

"It must be a pretty full house," Dave commented with a glance at Ronnie's pokémon.

"Yeah, you're not kidding. I'm seriously thinking about going to a Dark-type Gym and applying for membership. We sometimes eat here in the Centre just so my team can get out of the house."

"_Is_ there a Dark-type Gym?" Carla wondered aloud. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard of one.

"There has to be one somewhere."

Carla looked at her own team, just to make sure they weren't getting into trouble. Fortunately, they seemed too engrossed in their dinner to consider misbehaving.

Just then, her phone chimed. She took it out and looked at the screen; it was a text from Tally.

_Mum and Dad gave me a Trapinch! Her name's Flutter. Tx_

Carla grinned.

"What's up?" Dave asked.

"A friend of mine has a Trapinch." Carla was glad Tally was receiving areward for her work. Then again, maybe her parents had given Flutter to her just because they could.

"That's awesome!"

Then realisation clicked into place. "_Oh_."

"Carla, what's wrong?" Dave's voice was tense and alarmed.

"Nothing."

"It doesn't _look_ like nothing's wrong!"

"It's fine, it's just...Today's my birthday." And she'd completely forgotten it.

"Really? That's fantastic! How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You forgot your own birthday?" Ronnie said incredulously. "You haven't called your family, have you?"

"Not yet."

* * *

"Carla!" Theo looked delighted to see her on the screen. "How are you? Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Dad. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier."

"But you were able to call now, and that's what matters." Theo looked over his shoulder and yelled: "Glennis! It's Carla!" He turned back to the screen and said: "It's good to see you. Have you caught anything else?"

"A Pachirisu; she's called Nixie and she's really sweet. How are _you_, Dad? How's Glennis?" Carla shifted closer to the screen in anticipation.

Theo's pause told her all she needed to know.

"Do you remember the night before you left?"

"Yes." How could she not?

"Remember me saying that Glennis seemed upset about something?"

Carla nodded, clutching the edge of her chair so tightly that the plastic ridges dug into her fingers.

Whatever Theo was about to tell her was interrupted by the sound of running feet. Smiling, he moved aside and was replaced by Glennis, her hair tumbling about her face.

"Carly! How are you? How's your journey going?"

"I'm all right, and so is my team. We're in Verdanturf Town for the night."

"Aren't you going to wish your sister a 'happy birthday'?" said Theo's voice from the background.

"Sorry, Carly! Happy birthday." Glennis' eyes widened as she looked closer at the screen. "Wow. You look like you've lost weight. Sorry, I meant that in a good way. It's not that I thought you needed to lose it."

"It's OK," Carla said, smiling. "I know what you meant."

She probably _had_ lost some weight without noticing. All that walking around would have done her a lot of good, and physical fitness was part of being a trainer.

Glennis looked at their father. "Hey, Dad, can I talk to Carla privately for a moment?"

"Of course; I need to let Kelvin have a quick swim this evening." Theo gave Carla a warm smile, his eyes crinkling with affection. "Try not to leave it so long next time, OK?"

"I can't promise that, Dad. But I _will_ call again."

"So how many pokémon have you caught now?" Glennis asked when Theo had disappeared.

"Three. Well, two. I got my second from somebody else. They're all girls, and they all get on pretty well with each other."

"What are their names?"

"Zoe's the Snorunt; she's my starter. Tess is a Vullaby - she's energetic and very fluffy. Then there's Rakel, the Misdreavus."

"What's she like?" Glennis asked, her eyes sending Carla a clear, frantic message. _Play along._

"She's...a character." That seemed like the best way to describe her. "Nixie's a Pachirisu, and she's my latest capture; we're still getting to know her."

Glennis smiled wistfully. "They sound lovely. I can't wait to meet them."

"What about you? Anyone in your class giving you trouble?"

"No." Glennis shook her head rapidly, her hair dancing from shoulder to shoulder. "If there was, I'd tell you."

"Good, because if there are, they'll have to answer to me."

Glennis' eyes flickered. She knew Carla meant every word of what she had just said.

The older girl cleared her throat. "I light candles for us in the chapel."

"You didn't use to do that."

"I know, but...it helps. It really does. And...I know she's a Kantonese legend, but I'm going to start lighting candles to the Snow Queen. For you."

Carla frowned. "Why?"

"I heard someone say Articuno favours trainers who start with Ice-types - especially if the trainer's a girl."

"Thank you." Carla wasn't sure if Articuno would listen to the prayers of someone from Hoenn, but she wouldn't let Glennis know that.

Glennis swallowed; her eyes were welling up, and she blinked hard several times. Carla reached out and touched the screen with her fingertips, imagining she could reach across the distance between them and wipe away her sister's tears.

"Look after yourself, Carly. I love you. Buy yourself something nice from me, OK?"

"You know I can't do that."

"Please. It would mean a lot if you did."

"All right. I will," Carla lied. "I love you too. Give Dad a hug from me - and tell his team I said hi."

Glennis nodded twice. There was a click, and the screen went black.

Slowly, Carla hung up the phone and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

She hadn't asked if her sister had received the packages. Then she shook herself and got off the stool. No matter. She could call another time.

Just as she turned away from the phone, she happened to glance at the window. At first, she didn't notice anything unusual - just the dying remnants of a sunset. Then she saw tiny golden specks floating around in the sky. They couldn't be stars; there were too many of them, and they were _moving_.

She hurried towards the Centre doors and out into the evening. The specks were flying around in patterns now, some taking the shape of comets, others of stars or complex swirls.

It had to be Volbeat or Illumise. Carla had heard of this: how Illumise would use their scent to draw in Volbeat and then use them to create patterns in the sky.

As she stared, one Illumise gathered a large crowd of Volbeat towards her and formed a wheel with eight spokes, spinning them around her like a firework.

Someone scoffed loudly. "Now that's just showing off."

_It's still beautiful._

While the lights unfurled and danced, Carla felt a strange sense of peace settle inside her. It was similar to the feeling she'd had while sitting with Bruno and Tally the evening before they parted ways.

"Come out, girls!"

Tess, Nixie and Zoe landed beside their trainer, with Rakel floating a little above them. It was hard to see them in the twilight, but Carla knew they were there.

"I thought you might like to see this too," Carla said, gesturing towards the lights. Nixie scrambled onto her shoulder, hoping for a better view, and squeaked when Carla knelt down on the grass. Together, they watched the intricate dance.

They would be on the road again soon. There would be other places to see and more trainers to battle, but tonight they were happy to be here.

**Carla probably wasn't expecting company so soon, but things don't always go the way we plan.**

**This chapter's title comes from 'Here Tonight' by Tim and Gracie McGraw.**


End file.
